DOES GOD WANT YOU TO LEAVE YOUR JOB AND DO SOMETHING ELSE?

Several years ago I got really worried about "God's will for my life." I was (and still am) in the Navy and had to make some career decisions that would either set me up to get out of the Navy or help me continue to progress in my career. I agonized over this for a whole year, spent lots of hours praying, read books about it, and generally did everything I could to try to figure out what God wanted me to do. But I didn't hear anything. God had gone quiet...or at least, I couldn't hear him.

COULD YOUR DIET BE A WAY TO MINISTER AT WORK? MINE WAS

Recently I have felt like God has been challenging me to be a better servant leader but am not always sure how to actually be one. I have one person who works under me as my assistant. This week I had one opportunity to serve her in a unique way. I found out that she was trying to get into "clean eating," something I have been doing for years. I sent her a couple recipes and encouraged her in her efforts. While this didn't really relate to our job, it was one small way to improve our relationship and gave me a chance to serve her in a way that was meaningful to her.

HOW TO THINK BEYOND THE DAY TO DAY

For the past seven months I have spent the bulk of my spare time working on a house rehab project. As of now, I have spent almost 60k on repairs, made 71 trips to the project site, spent countless hours of my own time, and have hired lots of people to help with various tasks. It has been a big job and I have been pushing really hard to get it finished. Some days it has consumed me; it can be really exciting or really stressful, depending on what is going on.

WHY WHAT YOU SAY MATTERS MORE THAN YOU THINK

Many of my regrets in life have not been what I didn't say, but what I did say (this is especially true within my marriage). I work on a ship offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. The expression "cuss like a sailor" is pretty accurate; sailors tend to say a lot of bad things. I have often been guilty of not being encouraging, uplifting, or edifying in my speech towards and around others.

WHY YOU SHOULDN'T ARGUE WITH 12 YEAR OLDS

Earlier this week I hired a couple of high schoolers and their 12 year old brother to help me clean and paint part of the house I'm rehabbing. They did a great job and we made some good progress toward finishing the house so I can put it on the market.

But I also got the opportunity to "re-learn" a lesson that I thought I already knew. The 12 year old said something that I didn't think was correct and when I tried to inform him of how and why he was wrong, he simply stated that I was the one who was wrong and that he was right. I wish I could say that I let it go at that and moved on, but I kept trying to win the argument. How I got sucked into this "yes it is...no it isn't" argument with a 12 year old is beyond me.  

DOES YOUR LIFE SITUATION MAKE YOU FEEL DISTANT FROM GOD?

I work offshore in the Gulf of Mexico for a company called Otto Candies. I work 28 days (12 hour shifts each day) and then am off 28 days. My schedule makes it challenging to stay focused and grow in my relationship with God (especially when I'm at work). I feel like I am often spiritually bogged down and just can't get traction. And I feel even worse about my relationship with God when I have been sinning or when I am personally making bad choices. 

ENCOURAGEMENT TO KEEP BUGGING GOD IN PRAYER

I sit at work / school with the same ten people everyday for grad school at the Air Force Command and Staff College. We are about half way through the year and have gotten to know each other pretty well. I have been thinking a lot about how to be a good ambassador of Christ to the group. Recently, I decided to start praying for each of them individually. I put each person's name on a separate notecard and try to pray over one of them daily.  

FOUR VERSES USEFUL FOR EVERYDAY MINISTRY

When I started kindergarten at a small Christian school (a long time ago), I was forced to start memorizing scripture verses. It wasn't too bad at first but by the time I was in 7th grade I was forced to memorize whole chapters. I hated it. 

Most of us don't like taking the time or effort to memorize verses. 

But as I got older, and wasn't being forced to do it anymore, I began memorizing verses that were meaningful to me on my own.   

HOW DO YOU LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF?

For some time now, I have been writing about being a Christian in the workplace but have wondered about how I am supposed to apply all these things since I am in school this year (rather than a traditional work environment). One thing that I recently realized is that we are all (workers, students, family members, etc) called to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:39). This is more than just reacting in love or treating each other with respect. It is those things and more. It is a proactive love. It does something, not just reacts to something. It is a love that thinks ahead, that initiates. 

HOW TO HAVE RELIGIOUS CONVERSATIONS WITHOUT BEING AWKWARD

I used to be extremely uncomfortable with how to share my faith with co-workers (or anyone, for that matter) or even how to bring up the topic of religion. I was afraid of talking about religion because I thought people might have a closed-of or even hostile response. But I also knew that as a Christian, I am supposed to be a bold ambassador for Christ. Still, it took a lot of courage for me to do it...and when I did do it, it felt clumsy and awkward.

Since those days, I have learned that I'm not the only one; many Christians struggle with how to evangelize. It shouldn't be so hard to talk about something we believe is true and life giving.  Nevertheless, it is very difficult for most of us.

HOW TO GET PLUGGED INTO CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY

Because of my job in the navy, I have moved four times in the last four years. It has been difficult to build friendships and a sense of community when I spend so little time in any place. Fortunately, I have always been able to find social connection with other Christians.

TOO SCARED (BUT KNOW I SHOULDN'T BE) TO SHARE JESUS

Last Christmas I spoke with a girl I met about evangelism and being a Christian in the workplace. She told me that she travels a lot and doesn't feel like she has had opportunities to share her faith in Jesus with anyone at work. However, she does make it a point to share her faith when she travels. I was fascinated and challenged by what she had said. By contrast, when I fly/travel I usually make it a point to fall asleep as soon as possible and am sometimes annoyed if the person next to me wants to talk.

HOW TO DO YOUR WORK IN AND OUT OF THE CHURCH

Many of us see the importance of allowing our faith to follow us through the church doors on Sunday and into the rest of our life. It is a struggle at times, no doubt. Many also see the importance of courageously making room for our faith to enter into the doors of the workplace. God at Church, no problem, God at home – yeah that can happen, God at work?  Now that is taking some personal risk. Many workplaces aren’t exactly faith friendly – despite the politically correct company line and the first amendment, there is a great deal of social pressure to be lukewarm, fit-in, and avoid upsetting the apple-cart. Nevertheless, despite the challenges, many acknowledge the virtue of moral consistency - to be true to your values and faith no-matter where you are.

ONE WAY TO BE PURPOSEFUL ABOUT THE INFLUENCES IN YOUR LIFE

I can't seem to find a way to keep from being influenced by things at work, home and in culture. So many things are part of our lives in America: TV, books, Facebook, magazines, radio, billboards, family and friends (to name a few). Some of these we can limit and some of them we will be exposed to whether we like it or not. 

WHY TO MAKE YOUR TIME COUNT (EVEN IF YOU DON'T WANT TO)

I'm a navy man, living in an Air Force town for one year where I don't have any close friendships while I am doing grad school (Air Command and Staff College-ACSC). While I will likely only be here another seven months or so, its hard not to see my time here as very temporary and therefore not worth the investment of my time and effort to build new relationships.  

HOW TO BE A CHRISTIAN AT WORK WITHOUT FRATERNIZING

When I started doing Bible studies with people from work, I was concerned that I might be engaging in the activity that everyone emphatically said to stay away from: FRATERNIZATION (frat). One document from my workplace says this about frat: personal relationships between officer and enlisted members which are unduly familiar, do not respect differences in grade or rank, and are prejudicial to good order and discipline are prohibited. Your workplace may have similar policies or expectations for personal relationships between co-workers. 

I'M TIRED OF BEING AN HGTV CHRISTIAN

Several years ago I read a book about how to find, fix, and sell (FLIP) houses; shortly thereafter, I bought my first FLIP property. Though I am still very novice, I am on my third house and so far they have all been successful. Since I started doing this, it feels like everyone seems to know about FLIPing houses and everyone has advice for what to do and how to do it. When I ask if they have ever done a rehab, they often say something like "no, but I love watching it on HGTV." 

IF IN DOUBT, READ THE MANUAL

Fairly often I get into religious conversations with people and end up asking them what their faith background is. Most recently, I was talking to a guy at work and he told me that he was a Christians and then he went on to describe some of his theological beliefs. I was a little surprised because I would not have guessed he was a Christian. 

Lots of people are like this...when asked, they claim Christianity, but their behavior and speech don't reflect it; they aren't working the way God intends them to...in other words, they aren't properly functioning Christians. 

JUST DO WHAT I TELL YOU!

I have three amazing kids aged 2.5, 5 and almost 7. My wife does a great job with the little critters, but the house is constantly in some level of dissaray because everywhere they go they leave a trail of clothes, blankets, legos, army men, shoes, toy guns and snacks. If you could pull the roof off our house I imagine that it would look much like an ant hill with them constantly moving their things from one location to another without any distinguishable sense of order, rhyme or reason. 

AMERICAN WOMAN JAILED FOR HER FAITH-WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Last week I was listening to one of the podcasts I subscribe to (The Briefing by Albert Mohler) and heard about Kim Davis, a County Clerk in Kentucky, who was recently jailed because she would not issue marriage licenses to homosexuals. Because of her faith and in obedience to God, she was unwilling to issue any licenses with her signature on them. And for that, a federal judge sent her to jail.

Whether you agree with this woman or not, it is significant that we are culturally in a place where an American can be sent sent to prison for matters relating to faith.