Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, (Ephesians 3:20)

Are you chasing the Wild Goose?
If not now, when?

I’m so excited. My spirit is jumping with joy. This week I’m on the verge of perhaps the greatest breakthrough of my life and I see breakthroughs happening all around me. I see the favor of God upon TEAM DESTINY and JIREH Marketing Members. I’ll be sharing about some of those this week and next. The keyword for this week is “WILD GOOSE.”

My prayer is that you will catch the Holy Spirit fever and choose to jump into His flowing river of living water. The Wild Goose chase has begun and we’re going after Him. Incidentally, Mark Batterson wrote a sequel to his “Chase The Lion” book called “Wild Goose Chase: Reclaim the Adventure of Pursuing God.”

In that book, Mark shares: “Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit –An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something….

Today, allow me to share an amazing God story about Dewey McDonnell that is unfolding quickly. For more than 3 years, Dewey McDonnell has played a lead role on our core team for Pray Culpeper. He was one of the first people to sign up to be on my intercessory prayer team for Your Daily Blessing when that was formally announced in November 2008.

When I asked people on my intercessory prayer team to submit their own prayer requests so I could pray about those, Dewey responded asking me to pray for 3 things. One of those was for multiplication of the Experiencing God LIFE groups that Pastor Mark Jenkins had helped ignite back in September 2008.

Little did I know that I would become part of one of those Experiencing God LIFE groups and that we would meet at Elizabeth Powell’s beautiful home, just one mile from where I live. As a result of the first meeting, the “Experiencing God Through Journaling” webinar series was birthed. Two days ago, I emailed Richard Blackaby to open a door to discuss partnering with Blackaby Ministries and Lifeway Christian Resources to launch “Experiencing God” webinars world-wide.

Because of my involvement with the “Experiencing God” LIFE group, I learned that Katherine McDonnell, Dewey’s daughter competing in the ACC Championship swim meet taking place on Feb 20-21.

On Sunday Feb 22, Dewey sent an email sharing that Katherine helped lead her University of Virginia (UVA) swim team to a second straight ACC Championship. Her IM medley team broke UVA’s all-time record. Katherine also place second overall in the 100m breaststroke and third in the 200m breaststroke, eclipsing her previous best times and qualifying her for the national meet in Dallas.

Prayer Power
Daddy, thank You for inviting me to take part in the Wild Goose chase. Thank you for the thrill and unpredictability in chasing Him. Please invite my followers to join in this chase of their lifetime. Jesus, you’re the best! It’s in Your precious and mighty name I pray. Amen and hallelujah!

Blessings of the Day
1) “Journaling For Breakthroughs” – FREE webinar at 3pm EST on Tuesday March 3. Lynne Lee, a certified life coach, avid journaler, and Web 2.0 authority from England. will be interviewing me. This is the inaugural Launch of Christian LIFE Coaching Cafe. This is the first time I am being interviewed over the web about journaling to hear God’s voice.

2) Highlights and breakthroughs for me during the past 3 weeks (see below)

Blessings to join the Wild Goose chase!

Breaking News
Culpeper gets hit by its first major snow storm of the year

Randy Peck’s update for his Relational Coaching Network (RCN) cell group meeting on Feb 26, 2009

1) What have you done or what is going on in your life in the areas we discussed in our last call?

• I’ve been working feverishly to prepare the way for mass marketing of my journaling e-book. Lynne Lee has helped to propel me forward.
• Jerry, Sharon, and I recorded 3 more Wellness webinars together in the process of creating a Wellness e-book and paid course
• I interviewed Deb Smith having her share her God story and vision to create an e-book to monetize her coaching business through an Information product.
• Julia and I are continuing with our Finance LIFE group on Saturday mornings led by Pastor Matt and benefiting greatly

2) What is new in your life since we last met that you’d like the others in the group to know?

• Lynne Lee is a mother of 5 in England, certified life coach, avid two-way journaler, and Web 2.0 authority. As a result of Lynne asking to interview me on her inaugural webinar for her new Christian Life Coaching on Mar 3, I had 2 long and extremely valuable online strategy sessions with her in the past 2 weeks. As a result of that, I opened a KickStart (1shoppingcart) account 2 days ago to not only sell products, but to manage all my contact lists and handle all my autoresponders. I now have my free ebook and $77 version available there for purchase. I have substantially improved my Lead Generation and Sales pages.
• I connected at the heart level with Debra Bosacki, an avid journaler for 29 years. As a result Jerry and I interviewed her on our “Experiencing God Through Journaling” webinar on Feb 24.Because of that, I discovered Xiosoft Audio. That has the best Sales page I have ever seen. Jesus told me to invite Debra to a Joint Venture opportunity to co-host weekly “Journaling Cafe” webinars at 3 pm EST on Thursdays starting in March.
• I emailed Mark Virkler Jerry and my “Summary proposal for Joint Venture between Christian Leadership University and JIREH Marketing”
•  Through Jack Stagman, I connected with Chauncey Hutter, one of the leading marketplace ministers in the state of Virginia
• I began helping Mike and Valerie Webb launch their marketing campaign via Web 2.0 for Great Outdoor Endeavors
• The LORD revealed His assignment for Marching Through Culpeper to Virginia Morton and me – “Bringing truth, understanding, and reconciliation”
• Through Twitter and my weekly webinars, I connected personally with Chicke Fitzgerald, perhaps the greatest connectors I have ever met

3) What’s a win or good thing that happened that you’d like to celebrate with us?

• Dewey McDonnell’s daughter, Katherine, helped lead her team to a second straight ACC championship in swimming. Her IM relay team won first place and broke the all-time ACC record. Katherine won second place in the 100m breast stroke and third place in the 200m breast stroke. Dewey is part of the core team for Pray Culpeper.
• Jesus told me to partner with Henry Blackaby, his son, and Lifeway Christina Resources to launch world-wide “Experiencing God Through Journaling” webinars! By combining online journaling, life coaching, and Web 2.0 with what they already are doing around the world, there will be Explosive Kingdom Impact.
• GW Dameron, pastor of City on a Hill Church in Culpeper, found a new job after being laid off in Nov 2008.

4. What’s something that you might like to bring to the group this week?

a) Need continued prayer to complete my “UNCOMMON Journaling For Breakthroughs” ebook. Completing this will release a log jam of ideas and opportunities that God has been waiting to birth.
b) UNCOMMON Favor for webinar interview by Lynne Lee on Tues March 3
c) Need lots of prayer for God’s favor to effectively market “Experiencing God Through Journaling” webinars. That might well turn out to be my bread and butter business opportunity.

“He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)

What are YOUR most valuable relationships?
What simple step can you take TODAY to be better steward of those?

On Friday Feb 13, the Holy Spirit prompted me to spend several hours doing an inventory of my relationships. During that process, the LORD revealed to me how to use The Journal software to take my stewardship of relationships to a whole new level. That is the topic of today’s 8 pm EST webinar. I invite you to join Jerry and me for that.

Under the category JIREH Marketing, I created a new category called Joint Ventures and under that I created 3 tiers of people I know and correspond with regularly – Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Under Level 1, I created categories using names of people who have had a dramatic impact on my life and sorted those people in chronological order – the order God brought them into my life.

My parents were first. They modeled the love of God throughout my life. They instilled in me the habit of going to church every week. They taught me countless values which have not only impacted me, but ten of thousands of people I have come across during my lifetime.

After my parents, came Rev. Mark Jarvis. Not only did he lead me to a personal relationship with Jesus and disciple me spiritually, but he opened the door for a long-term relationship with Rev. Matt Gregory, my current pastor, and Michael Stay. The four of us met weekly in a coaching group for 4 years. Through this support network, my faith grew exponentially and many Kingdom doors of opportunity were opened.

Following them, other people I listed included Erick Kalenga, Virginia Morton, Rick Heeren, Jack Serra, Jeff Bernstein, Joseph Umidi, Bowie Curry, Jack Stagman, Jerry Graham, Ben Stewart, Mark Virkler, Karla Meachem, and Lynne Lee.

Today I want to give a special thanks to Karla and Lynne. Both of these ladies I met through Twitter. They both chose to become JIREH Marketing members. And in just a few months, they have had a profound impact on me. Both are extremely humble. They are avid users of Relationship Marketing (Web 2.0). And both keep their eyes focused on Jesus and daily seek His Kingdom and His righteousness. Through their close relationships with Jesus, they supernaturally manifest the “go-giver” philosophy.

This morning I visited Karla’s site Empowering Christian Women, which is my favorite site ever for Christian resources. I was particularly touched by the Father’s Love Letter” YouTube vido. See Blessings of the Day to learn more.

Karla also has a personal blog titled “More of Him: Less of Me.” This morning when I visited that, I noticed Karla wrote, “I’ve been asked to do another interview on internet radio. Once again, I am stepping out in faith. :) This will be my 3rd interview this month ~ one last Tuesday, one last Wednesday and another one soon – please stay tuned for the details.”

What’s amazing is that Karla’s breakthroughs and some of my new breakthroughs came as a result of her choice to sow a financial seed to be JIREH Marketing Member. As a result, she joined TEAM DESTINY, God’s team to change lives and disciple nations. As a result of that, Dr. Jerry Graham and I hosted Karla as our guest expert for the “JIREH Marketing: Empowering Christian Women” webinar on Feb 3.

That was Karla’s very first interview and now the gates of heaven are open for her to have explosive Kingdom impact. PTL. You go girl.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, I thank You for the precious gift of relationships, which are the currency of the Kingdom of God. I thank You for each and every person who has sown good seeds into my life. I thank You for the recent relationships you helped me establish with Karla Meachem and Lynne Lee. Thank You for the new and big doors of opportunity You are opening for both of them. Bless their marriages, their families, and their ministries (businesses). May both of them accomplish more for Your Kingdom in 2009 than they did previously in their entire lives. Thank You Jesus. With You all things are possible. Amen and Hallelujah!

Blessings of the Day
1) ““JIREH Marketing: Blogi360 – The Website That Works For You” FREE webinar at 11 am EST today (Feb 17)

2) “Experiencing God Through Journaling: Stewarding Your Relationships” FREE webinar at 8 pm EST today (Feb 17)

3) Father’s Love Letter YouTube video at Empowering Christian Women

4) More of Him: Less of Me personal blog by Karla Meachem

5) Christian Life Coaching – by Lynne Lee

Blessings to be a great steward of your relationships!

————————————————————————————–

The Holy Spirit is inviting YOU to become part of TEAM DESTINY. If you want more favor in your life, then join our team. Favor is always proportional to God’s assignment. That’s because the greater the assignment, the greater the adversity.

Journaling is the key to unlock your dreams!
Journaling is the key to unlock your DESTINY!

Is journaling biblical? Absolutely! Father God is the greatest Journaler of all times. The Bible is His journal – the most profound one of all times. And throughout time, the Holy Spirit has inspired millions of people to write to inspire others to greatness.

Blessings for divine provision and breakthroughs!

Dr. Randy Peck
“Blessed to be a blessing”
The Connector – connecting people, ideas, and resources in Christ through the POWER of the Holy Spirit

P.S. If you’re a small thinker and don’t want your faith to soar, this book is definitely not for you. But if you believe in a BIG God who has destined you for greatness, then you’ve come to the right place.

fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. (Philippians 2:2)

Are you willing to pray for favor for the FCA for one week? One month?

As mentioned in my devotional on November 20, November 18 was the best day of 2008 for me. One of my highlights for that day was attending the annual FCA Fundraising banquet in Fredericksburg VA. During that banquet, God rekindled the fire in my heart to bless the FCA and teens, especially in Culpeper and Virginia.

The banquet room at the Holiday Inn Express in Central Park was full with about 400 people. Julia and I were blessed to be seated at a table near the stage where the speakers were, so I was able to get some good photos. We were also blessed to be seated with Randi Jones (the area rep for the Prince William area, which includes Culpeper), Larry Dix (an FCA Board member), and David Davies (VP of Stewardship and Gift Planning from the national FCA office).

One of the things that impressed me the most was what God is doing at Mountain View High School in Stafford County, VA. A group of 5 students from that school came on stage to play and sing an awesome worship song for the entire audience. That is something they do every Wednesday morning at school. Wow! Then two other students from Mountain View shared what the FCA has meant to them. One of the head football coaches shared his perspective.

But what struck me the most was the foundation for all the Kingdom successes at Mountain View, namely intercessory prayer. A mother of a Mountain View student shared her story of how God took a family disaster and turned it around for His glory. She told how her son was so rebellious and making horrible choices in 9th grade that were going to take him out.

That drove this lady to her knees. She had never understood the power of prayer before that. As a result of her prayers, God connected her to a lady who connected her to the head football coach at Mountain View. That coach ministered to her son on the football team. Eventually her son committed his life to Christ and now he’s serving the LORD.

One of the first things this lady did to break through was ask for the email addresses of all the parents of the football players. She then sent an email asking for volunteers to pray for the team. While she received several unfriendly replies, 4 other people stepped forward to pray. Now that intercessory team has grown to about 60 people.

Imagine what’s possible if a few parents in every school in America do something similar – form their own intercessory teams.

The keynote speaker for the evening was Bob Jones, a graduate of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He played 4 years in the NBA for the Denver Nuggets and 8 years for the Philadelphia 76ers. He was named to the All-Defensive Team first team for 10 of his 12 season. He received the John Wooden Award in 2005, recognizing him for his character and contributions both on and off the court.

As I was soaking in the wonders of God during this FCA banquet, I was reminded that the FCA had a greater impact on me than any other ministry in my life. Being exposed to the FCA Bible in the Fall of 2001 led me to start the habit of daily journaling on January 1, 2002. Journaling eventually evolved to become the lead domino for my life. Several times I have had Jesus tell me, “Coaching people to journal to hear Me is your sweet spot.”

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You for the FCA and the blessing that wonderful organization has been to me personally as well as to my family and our local community. Thank You for Kerry O’Neill and his godly leadership as the Director of the Fredericksburg Area FCA. Grant Kerry and the FCA UNCOMMON favor with You and man to soar to new heights for Jesus! Show them how to harness the power of the web to communicate their messages and allow students to share their God stories with the world. Thank You Jesus. Amen and hallelujah!

Link of the Day
Photos from the FCA banquet on Nov 18, 2008

Blessings to the FCA students, staff, and volunteers to soar to new heights for Jesus!

So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 8:15)

Who do you play together with frequently?
How many close authentic relationships do you have?

Today is a big day at Soul Purpose Church (SPC) – it’s “Friend Day.” For several months, Pastor Matt Gregory has planned the messages leading up to today along with the seven week S.H.A.P.E. series that begins in two weeks. Matt’s goal is to have 150 people meeting in LIFE groups to experience friendship in community and to discover their unique purposes.

For more than a month, Matt has been encouraging each person at SPC to invite at least one friend to come on Oct 5. This morning at our 10:30 am worship at Liberty High School in Bealeton, we will have lots of first time guests. If you live locally and don’t go to church regularly, I invite you to come today as my guest. Come find me and tell me you came as my guest so we can sit together. I’m going to treat people who come as my guests to a free lunch afterwards at a nearby restaurant.

For directions to Soul Purpose Church, click here.

Yesterday from 10 am – Noon, SPC sponsored a gas buy down at the Bealeton 7-11 on the corner of Routes 28 and 17. Cars lined up from both directions to save 25 cents on every gallon of gas. What a great way to reach out to a community and bless the people.   It certainly is a good way to create a first impression.

In my September 23 devotional I wrote about 5 action steps to be fully engaged with my friends. One of those was “play together.” Well, two weekends ago, most of the ladies at our church went on a 3 day, ladies spiritual retreat at Lake Gaston in southern Virginia. They had a wonderful time to bond, worship God, pray, and reflect. They shared photos from their retreat at last Sunday’s worship service.

Then last weekend, two of those ladies who led the singing at the retreat led the singing at the Sunday worship service. That was the most fun worship service at SPC I have ever been to. Afterwards a group of about 30 of us drove to White Oak Canyon to hike up to the first large waterfall where Tabatha was baptized. It was awesome to experience a baptism near a waterfall. We all had such a great time. You can find photos of that hike and baptism at today’s Link of the Day.

Jesus said that he came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. It’s a delight to be part of a local church where the preaching and atmosphere help people experience the abundance.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You for all the great things you are doing at Soul Purpose Church. Thank You that Pastor Matt is a purpose-driven leader. Thank You for all the new people who will come this morning. May You bless the entire worship service this morning including Matt’s message. May You bless the times of fellowship and sharing afterwards when many guests are treated to free lunches at restaurants all over. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Link of the Day
Photos of Soul Purpose Church Hike and Baptism By Waterfall

Blessings to play together frequently with your family and your close friends!

Do not forsake your own friend (Proverbs 27:10)

What does it mean that your very first friend should be God?
What does it mean to be fully engaged with your friends?
How does that change your priorities?

Matt Gregory, my pastor, is currently preaching a series during September titled “Fully Engaged.” His message last Sunday was titled “Fully Engaged With My Friends.” That will be my topic for the remainder of this week. Next week’s topic will be “Fully Engaged With My Community.”

The key verse Matt chose for our September series is 2 Chronicle 16:9 – “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” I don’t know about you, but when God’s eyes are searching for a loyal friend, I want Him to find me.

A lot of people feel lonely. Loneliness is a symptom of a deeper problem, just like a warning light in a car is a symptom. Usually, if you want good friends, you must first be a good friend. Often, whatever you are looking for in your life, you must first give away. That’s the law of sowing and reaping.

Here are 5 action steps to engage my friends:
1) Position myself to have and be a friend
2) Prove to be loyal and encouraging
3) Play together
4) Pray specifically for my friends
5) Pursue opportunities to talk about God

We’ll discuss each of these later this week.

You know, friends help their friends. And yes, sometimes it even costs something. I’ve found that when I pay for something, I usually invest more time and energy to apply whatever I’m learning to my life. Anyhow, I want to make you aware of a special opportunity I’m offering to bless you. Each Thursday evening during the month of October I am personally leading an online course titled “UNCOMMON Social Marketing (Web 2.0).” If you are interested, I’d be grateful for your support.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You that You are always fully engaged with us even if we aren’t fully engaged with You. Guide me to be fully engaged with You so that I may be fully engaged with my friends. Protect me from things that take my focus off of You.  Thank You for the trials in my life. In Jesus name, Amen. 

Link of the Day
UNCOMMON Social Marketing (Web 2.0) – Teaching Profitable Attraction Marketing
[http://empower2000.com/7mountains/education/gcc]

Blessings to be fully engaged with your friends!

A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)

Who have you invited to a Bible study or small group?
Who is dying out there spiritually waiting for your special invitation?

Wayne Duncan is a marketplace minister in real estate. I first met Wayne in 1987 when I moved to Culpeper and rented a house. Our paths crossed a few more times over the next few years, but then I didn’t see Wayne for years until the Fall of 2000 at a Culpeper Ministerial Association meeting. After that meeting, Wayne talked to me and invited to me join a Bible study group with him.

Believe it or not, even though I had gone to church nearly every week for my entire life, Wayne was the first person in my life to invite me to a Bible study. I pounced on that opportunity and attended my first Bible study with Wayne in Charlottesville Virginia in December 2000. A month later, in January 2001, I committed my life to Christ. In February 2001, I began attending a weekly Bible study in Culpeper that Wayne was facilitating.

When I met Wayne, he was going through a tough time professionally and with his family. At one point in his life, Wayne had been the most successful commercial real estate agent in Culpeper. However, an unwise decision to put all his financial eggs in one basket (buying Commonwealth Park) eventually forced him into financial bankruptcy. Fallout of that included rejection by the leadership of the church he had attended for years.

Yet, by the grace of God, Wayne hung in and stayed in Culpeper. For years as Wayne endured a multitude of trials, he continued to press into God and put Him first in all areas of his life. Wayne led multiple Bible studies. I remember Wayne telling me over and over, “I want to work smarter, not harder.” God brought me into Wayne’s life at a critical time to pay it forward when he needed lots of encouragement. We spent lots of time together. In return, Wayne invested in my life to disciple me spiritually. You now are a beneficiary of that.

For several years, Wayne has been the catalyst behind our annual community Thanksgiving worship service. That consistently has been one of the greatest demonstrations of Christ-centered unity in our community.

On October 16, I attended my first Culpeper Ministerial Association (CMA) meeting in several months. Who did I see there? Wayne. He was there to talk about the upcoming community Thanksgiving service in Culpeper on Tuesday November 20. I learned that Wayne pledged $3,000 to bring Dr. Lloyd John Ogilvie to Culpeper to preach a message for that service. Dr. Ogilvie served as Chaplain for the U.S. Senate from 1995-2003 and has authored more than 50 books. Visit today’s Link of the Day to learn more about him.

After the CMA meeting, Wayne, Dewey McDonnell, and I talked. I was thrilled to learn that God is blessing Wayne with tremendous success and favor in the commercial real estate market after years of faithful and humble service and persistence.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You for Wayne Duncan and the difference he has made in my life. Bless him, his family, and his marketplace ministry abundantly. Thinking of Wayne makes me aware that some of the people reading this message today are going through major struggles and almost ready to give up. Some have major debt and don’t know how to get out. Some are feeling the deep hurts of a broken family. Some have diseases that are draining their energy and life. Some want to serve You, but don’t know where to start. Please bring the right people into their lives to encourage them, pray with them, coach them, and pay it forward. Please touch their lives with the hand of God in such a miraculous way that they know it has to have been You. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
Biography of Dr. Lloyd John Ogilvie

Blessing to be a friend, make a friend, and lead a friend to Christ!

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)

What simple thing can you do every day at work or home to share God’s love?

One of my greatest delights is preparing these devotionals. When I first started these on July 1, 2006, about 280 people were receiving them daily. By January 1, 2007, this number had increased to 353 and now it’s up to 454. More significantly, they have inspired at least ten people to launch there own daily reflections. As a result, about 4,000 life-changing messages are going out daily.

That’s more than a ten fold (1,000%) increase – with God’s children reaching out to bless people in their own sphere of influence. The power of compounding is enormous. Even the difference between a 10% and 20% annual growth rate becomes enormous after ten years.

I’m especially thrilled to see the quality of the messages being sent by my web clients and prospects. Recently, I read a reflection by Jerry and Sharon Graham titled “An Uncommon Blessing.” In that, they share a link to a short video with a true story about a grocery store bagger with Down’s Syndrome who changed many lives and the success of his store with simple acts of love and kindness.

To be greatly inspired by what one person can do through simple acts of love, watch the short PowerPoint movie at today’s Link of the Day

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You for Johnny and his modeling of a simple acts of love that had a profound impact. Multiply this message about simple truths of service around the world. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
The Simple Truths of Service – inspired by Johnny the Bagger – [http://www.stservicemovie.com]

Blessings to be a “Johnny” in your own unique way!

Every time I think of you, I give thanks to God (Philippians 1:3)

What gift can I give my pastor in October to have a lasting benefit?
What choice will I make to catapult my pastor to a new level of effectiveness?

October is National Pastor Appreciation Month. Pastors are a lot like physicians in that they have high stress jobs dealing with life and death matters (eternal life and spiritual death). A big difference, however, is their income, often a fraction of that of most physicians.

As a token of my appreciation, I can either choose to give my pastor a fish (e.g. cash, coupon for dinner) or to teach him to be a better fisherman. In my devotional on October 5, I shared about the impact that lifeforming leadership coaching has had on me.

As The Pastor’s Coach, Jerry Graham’s coaching specialty is helping God’s shepherds be all that He has destined them to be. He coaches pastors to reach goals they’ve set for them selves as well as for their churches. Do they want to grow their churches numerically? Grow your congregations spiritually? Do you want to change the focus of their ministry? Are they looking to deepen their relationships with their wives, their children, or the Lord?  

Surveys show that the majority of pastors feel unappreciated, regularly battle loneliness, and have no close friends or confidants that they can share these kinds of concerns with.  The Pastor’s Coach can help you successfully examine, evaluate, and deal with the difficult issues that come from daily “pouring yourself out” for others.

For just $900, Jerry will coach a pastor to help achieve his destiny. What is included in this price? Nine coaching sessions (3 per month) spread out over a 3 month period. How much of a time commitment will this be for the pastor? Probably less than six hours per month.

$900 is a lot for most people to give. So, how can I make this more affordable? Perhaps I can join with 8 other families in my church to split the fee. What other possibilities exist? What if my pastor resists or isn’t interested? What can I do to better educate him about this opportunity?

How much of a difference does Jerry’s coaching make? Read what some of Jerry’s former clients have to say at today’s Link of the Day.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You for our pastors who lay down their lives for the sake of Your flocks. Bless and encourage them, particularly during this month of October. I pray that many people who read this message will seize this opportunity to bless their pastors with the precious gift of lifeforming leadership coaching. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
Testimonies from people who have received coaching by Dr. Jerry Graham
[www.thecoachingpair.com/meet/jerry-graham-ph.d.-d.min.html]

Blessings to help your pastor catapult to a new level of effectiveness? 

Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother. (Zechariah 7:10)

How can you bless someone who feels down and out on Valentine’s Day?

God is sovereign! On February 8, I received an envelope in the mail from Dan Tingley. I didn’t get around to opening that envelope until the afternoon of Sunday February 11. Inside I found a CD with 10 songs sung by Lori Tingley, Dan’s wife.

Later that evening on February 11, I drove from my home in Culpeper to Fredericksburg to hear the praise team In One Accord sing for two hours as part of the 21 days of prayer, fasting, and worship taking place at Grace Church of Fredericksburg. During my drive, I decided to listen to the CD by Lori Tingley.

The first song on Lori’s CD is called “Father to the Fatherless.” That song really spoke to my heart. Lori has a beautiful voice and the lyrics were so touching.

At 11:40 AM the next morning, my wife and I took our dog for a ten minute walk. A minute before I got home, the Holy Spirit prompted me to take Lori’s CD to the noon Pray Culpeper meeting. Three or four people who came to the Pray Culpeper meeting were first-timers.

When I played the song “Father to the Fatherless” at the start of our meeting, Debbie Delaney, a first-timer, immediately said she needed that CD to give as a birthday gift to a boy who had been abused for much of his life. She had been praying to God to reveal the perfect gift He desired for the boy. About four other people then asked me to get more copies of the CD for them to buy.

Then Virginia Morton held up a book titled “The Lord Will Provide” and told our prayer group that we must read that book. Theresa Light, a pastor’s wife who had come to the Pray Culpeper meeting for the very first time, then spoke up to say her brother who lives in Texas wrote that book. Testimony after testimony then poured out demonstrating the sovereignty of God.

To top things off, the next day (February 13), my wife and I had the privilege to meet Lori Tingley in person when she and Dan had five guests over for lunch at their home in Virginia Beach.

Today is Valentine’s Day. For many of us, it’s a time to show our appreciation to people we love. But what about those people who have been abandoned or who lost their loved ones? How can we bring hope and encouragement to them?

Prayer Power
LORD, thank You for being a father to the fatherless. Thank You for reaching out to me during a desperate time in my life to invite me to be Your child. Thank You that I can now call You Father. Thank You for my natural parents who poured their love into me. Thank You Jesus for being my Valentine, my all in all. You have given so much to my family. May we be a blessing to the poor, the hungry, widows, orphans, prisoners, and the persecuted. Encourage many others to do likewise. Bless the Tingley family! Multiply Lori’s song “Father to the Fatherless” around the world! We praise Your holy name, Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
Fatherless America: Confronting Our Most Urgent Social Problem by David Blankenhorn
[http://http://www.americanvalues.org/html/bk-fatherless_america.html]

Blessings to be a “father” to the fatherless!

Not Used
• Ex 22:22 “You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child.
 
Lyrics to the song “Father to the Fatherless”

Father to the broken-hearted,
Father to the fatherless,
Healer of the shattered spirit,
Hold now in your loving caress,
The ones who need Your gentle touch,
Who need your healing O so much.
You’re father to the fatherless.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21)

It’s amazing that the words we speak actually have the power of life (and death). The Proverb above teaches that the words we speak are actually seed-bearing entities because they bear fruit. Hence, our words follow the 4 laws of sowing and reaping [http://www.alifeofblessing.org/content.cfm?id=2067] previously discussed on July 6 and 7.

The very first chapter of the Bible (Genesis 1) describes how God spoke the world into existence. We also create our own realities with the words that we speak.

When we bless people with our thoughts and words, we speak life into their lives. When we criticize, condemn, or complain, we speak death into lives and situations. The more we keep our commitments and let our “yes” be “yes” and our “no” be “no”, the greater power our words have to create life and hope.

In July 1999, at the age of 39, I left Culpeper Hospital after working there full-time for 12 years as an anesthesiologist. I had spent a year trying to work out an agreement with my former anesthesia associate to cut back to part-time, but failed. In retrospect, I was burned out with the call, emergency cases, hospital politics, etc.

It turned out that God rescued me, my family, and my career by jerking me away from my busy lifestyle. During this mid-life crisis, I began searching for truth and the meaning of life. And in that process, I met Jesus and surrendered my life to Him. That was the best decision I ever made.

In August 1999, I took my family to Olympia Washington to visit my brother and his wife, Diane Peck. She recommended that I read the book “How To Win Friends and Influence People,” written by Dale Carnegie and first published in 1936. Diane’s brother, Bill Walkiewicz, had taught courses for Carnegie Institute for 6 years.

“How to Win Friends and Influence People” quickly became one of my favorite books. The book cover claims “it’s the first and still the best book of its kind to lead you to success.” This excellent book explains 30 different principles for winning friends and influencing people. The very first principle is “Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain!”

Are you choosing words that speak life into your marriage, your family, your job?
Do you criticize, condemn, or complain?

Prayer Power
Father, you say that “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45). Therefore, I ask You to fill my heart with good treasure, so that I will speak words of life. May I bless and not curse people I know and meet, even my enemies. Bless those who read this message with good treasure in their hearts. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
Principles on How to Win Friends and Influence People
 
Your Daily Blessing News
Tomorrow we will discuss the importance of our thoughts, which affect the words we speak and ultimately determine our destiny.

Other Sites of Interest: Dale Carnegie Training [www.dalecarnegie.com]