A.C.T.I.V.A.T.E. Your Life (7)
Are you running from the Lord?
So often in life, the Lord gives us a message, a thing to do, a word to say, a place to go, yet we don’t do it. Why don’t we listen to what the Lord says to us? So many times we have heard people say that He will send us off somewhere we don’t want to be, or do something we don’t want to do. Ask yourself, “Has the Lord every deceived me?” If you can answer yes to that question, are you sure it was the Lord?
So again I ask, “Why don’t you heed the callings of the Lord?” In Exodus 1:7 it says “And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied and waxed exceedingly mighty and the land was filled with them.” (KJV) Yet they were slaves.
Some of you are running from your past trying to make a new start. Oh you know what I mean, past failures, past relationships, past hurts, past due bills, don’t act like you don’t know. You know who I am talking to, stop looking around.
Some of you have been running since you realized the difference between right and wrong. He wants you to stop doing what you are doing. He wants you to truly give your life over to Him. He wants to bless you so that your life will tell the tale of how good God is and can be. Yet you have on your New Balance 823’s, your sport socks, and your best church outfit with hat to match and you are running. Why?
When God gives you a thing, it is for your good. He wants you to live a blessed life, not one that will make you have hardships and pain. That doesn’t make sense. Why would God have you suffer needlessly? Even when he is taking you to new heights and it gets a little hot, He is right there waiting on you to call on Him.
So what happens when God trips you? Oh let me tell you it is not pretty. First that thing you wouldn’t give up for God will be taken away. That man, woman, child, car, house, bank account, clothes, job, whatever it is you were putting ahead of God is outta here. Oh now you calling on Him right? You called and left a message like, “Hello God, hi, just checking in to see how things are going, when you get this message, give me a call. Nothing serious. Just calling to check in.” Wait it’s not over yet. You know all those people that you would go to for help when you should have called on God in the first place, gone. Those wells have dried up. Oh now you knocking a little harder, calling God and leaving messages like, “Hey God, it’s me, um when you get this message can you call me back I really need to talk to you about something.”
Now that perfect health you had, you starting to feel a little funny and the doctors can’t tell you what it is because they don’t know. You are taking test after test and yet, you can’t get an answer about why you feel the way you do. Oh now your call to God has some urgency to it, some desperation in your voice. “God, this is your meek and humble servant, calling on your name, the name above any name has power. Lord I am sorry for doubting your word, for believing that I had any hand in where my life was going. Lord if you never bless me again, what you have done for me has been enough and I can’t thank you enough. Lord you know my situation…..” beep. Now you are out of time, you hang up and call right back. You have called on the Lord so much your friends’ see you and go in the opposite direction.
Now let’s look back. How did this happen? How did you become so desperate for the Lord? How did you wind up in the place you said you couldn’t, wouldn’t go?
When God calls, don’t run, be still and listen to what He wants to do with you, to you and for you. If you run, believe me, He will get your attention and you don’t want that.
Carla Daniels is a certified NCTI Real Colors facilitator and a Gallup StrengthsQuest Educatior. Contact her at Carla@hmgconsultants or on the web at www.hmgconsultants.com; on facebook at www.facebook/CarlaRDaniels or on twitter @MsRayn.
Plant Trees
“You will not be known for the fruit you pick but by the trees you plant.” Proverb.
I was working with my eight grade Ladies of Distinction to sign thank you cards for the presenters that spoke life into them. After they signed the cards, I asked them to choose a card from The Ripples Project (www.theripplesproject.org). They each chose a card, read it to me and was asked to explain it.
Some of the young ladies got it right away and was able to understand and explain their cards, while others took the “shrug way out” and said, “I don’t know what this means.” I would have them read it again until they were able to understand it. No one was immune to the card selection process. The principal, Transition Support Coordinator, and the parent adviser were also asked to pull cards. When they got their cards they both shouted because they immediately said they needed that card with that quote in their lives at that moment. When I ask people to pull cards, I tell them I don’t give them the cards but let the card choose them.
I was visited by one of my students’ father, who is also a speaker on Servant Leadership, about co-sponsoring an upcoming seminar on servant leadership and education. I set up what I needed to do and before he left, I asked him to pull a card. The card he pulled was the proverb listed above. He was blown away and repeated said, “I accept that. I receive that.” As a man of God, he understood the meaning of the proverb far deeper than my young ladies did on various levels.
His card started me thinking about the difference between picking fruit and planting trees. When I plant trees or life change moments, I am causing roots to be buried deep in the ground or the psyche of the person. The person knows what words of encouragement (fertilizer ) are being used, they know the quality of the water, they know the gardener of the weeds and obstacles that can get in the way of their growth.
As the planter I know what type of tree I planted. If I planted a cherry tree, I know when my tree matures it will bear cherries. It would be foolish of me to think that if I plant a cherry tree that I will get apples. I know what I planted. I know what fruit my tree is to bear. However, what if I just pick fruit from the trees that are planted? I have to wonder about the quality of the fruit. Since I didn’t plant the tree and I am not sure of the quality of the fertilizer that went to nurture the tree. I wasn’t there to know what words of wisdom or life were imparted to the tree because I’m just interested in the fruit it bears.
As I thought on this proverb, I thought about the trees I have planted either knowingly or unknowingly and the consequences of those plantings. Did I encourage growth or did I stunt the growth of the tree? I love fruit but fruit is the result of the planting of the tree. In this day more than ever, we need to plant some trees in our youth. We need trees of responsibility, determination, excellence, success, dedication and accountability. We need to plant trees of morality, professionalism, honor, distinction, character, and ethics.
If we don’t plant these trees in our youth of today, what has been planted in them will bear bitter fruit. Are you ready to plant trees?
Carla Daniels is a certified NCTI Real Colors facilitator and a Gallup StrengthsQuest Educatior. Contact her at Carla@hmgconsultants or on the web at www.hmgconsultants.com; on Facebook at www.facebook/CarlaRDaniels or on twitter @MsRayn.
Get high on your own supply
By Carla Daniels
Yes you read it correctly, get high on YOUR OWN supply. This is not referring to illegal drugs but to the other things that you “push.” I am referring to that thing you do. For example, I am a dealer of HOPE (noun 1. the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best). I get high on hope because I know that I can do all things through Christ who strengths me. I deal in positivity (People who are especially talented in the Positivity theme have an enthusiasm that is contagious. They are upbeat and can get others excited about what they are going to do. Gallup StrengthsQuest)
Many times we get so caught up in motivating others that we forget about ourselves. We forget that we need to recharge our batteries or refill our resource belts. So often I go and go and go because they don’t know how to stop. I took myself aside and told me that I should take a moment to get high on my own supply and that I give to my inner woman what I give to others. I recorded my presentation and watched it not as the presenter, but as an audience member. I forgot that what it was like to sit in the audience and have someone speak life into me even if I was that someone. I even got some new ideas for presentations and workshops as I sat and listen to the presentation.
I know when some people hear the term “get high”they automatically think of the negative, but let’s turn that around. If more people “got high” on life and living it to the fullest, we would be better off as individuals and as a people. If we got high on education it would be a priority that everyone gets and education and training. If we got high on financial responsibility our children would have a better understanding of money and how to use it properly. If we got high on civility….well you get the picture.
Today, ask I this question, “What are you getting high on?”
A.C.T.I.V.AT.E. Your Life Main page
By Carla Daniels
Alleviate Clutter
It's 2010, you have made all the same resolutions that you may or may not keep, and yet you still feel that something is missing, or maybe it is there but it has no energy or juice. It is time to ACTIVATE Your Life. The first step is to alleviate unnecessary clutter from your life.
Ask yourself, "What is cluttering up my life?" Is it worry, fear, procrastination, self-doubt, extra body weight, self-esteem, people and other such issues? You may have great ideas and energy but that energy has to travel through a lot of clutter in order to reach you. The more clutter it has to travel through the less energy is available when it reaches you. The less energy you have to use for your life and the things you want to do for your life and others.
When things are in the way, they slow down your energy or activation, and they have to go. To remove worry is simple, stop worrying. Too simple for some, too hard for others, but it is proven that if you stop worrying about things you can't change and change the things you can, you feel better, do better and your life is less stressful. For instance, if you are worrying about finances, you can either increase your income or reduce your expenses. The problem is we become attached to the "things" that we try to maintain instead of maintaining life.
Look around your home and start with one room at a time such as the room that you are in the most, say your bedroom or other such area. Look around the room and start removing things that don't work, are in the way, you've outgrown, or just don't need. Starting with one room at a time will get you in the swing of alleviating unnecessary things. Believe me I am not of the minimalist movement where you should have nothing and live a poor existence, and be content in that manner, yet so many people try to live a life based on material wealth but the foundation for wealth eludes them. The foundation is first; your life matters more than things. If you lost the things and still had your life, you can get more things, but if you lose your life, game over. There is a saying, "he who dies with the most toys still dies."
In my life, I removed unnecessary activities that weren't getting me anywhere and using up my energy. I have several talents and I really wanted to use all of them but found out that I can't do all things. I looked across my life and started looking at the things I really wanted to do and why. I love working with people and helping others as well as performing. These three areas were what I chose to work on. Everything else was let go. My life has been so much better because now I know that if any new activities don't fall in one of these three areas, they will be passed on to others.
When it came to the clutter in my home, I started with my bedroom. This is my inner sanctum and the most stress free place in my home. I wanted a new look so I painted the walls, a soothing Horizon Haze and the trim, Bridal Veil, ok it is blue and white but the names are so cool. I moved the room around to give it a better flow of movement of air. I removed unnecessary furniture and added a chaise lounger so I can have an area just to think or not think. From there, I cleaned out my closets and gave away clothes that no longer fit because I have some clutter in my body that I need to move out. Then I added elements to the walls that drew my mind from negative to positive thoughts. I put up quotes that I can change as needed.
After a weekend of alleviating clutter from my home and life, I feel better, freer, more open, more energized. What do you need to alleviate in your life to feel your full energy? What is stopping you from activating your life?
About ACTIVATE Your Life is a year long series of articles, exercises, and self evaluations. It will consist of a holistic approach to getting the most out of your life by activating the dormant power that lies in all of us. We will look at every aspect of a person's life in order to activate it. These areas include finances, health, relationships, self esteem, careers, etc. It will have humor, documented and researched facts, up to the minute information on all issues, especially health. So that you can encourage others, you will be able to upload pictures and testimonies in the Facebook group. You can email Carla Daniels activate@hmgconsultants.com
By Carla Daniels
Choose you this day….(Joshua 24:15)
Do you think about some of the choices you make on a daily basis? Some are so automatic that you don’t even notice that you’ve made a choice. These are not agonizing choices; they are probably done with little or no effort. What about choices that tax your brain? In a 2008 article in Scientific American entitled, “Tough Choices: How Making Decisions Tires Your Brain,” the author, On Amir, looks at research about how choices can exhaust the brain thus affecting your decision making later in the day. This is known as “executive function.” In layman terms: I have often had “brain drain” where after a very cerebral day, I can’t make a simple decision like what to eat for dinner. Like most of you, I have a job that requires me to make a lot of decisions throughout the day. Some days the decisions are easy. There are days when I have to choose to fire someone or which item to do on my “to do” list. These are stressful days and cause me to tax my “executive function.”
When you start making life-altering choices, you must be deliberate about who enters your life and who you remove from your circle of influence. Whether your friends stand around and give you direct advice or you have conversations with them, they are influencing you in some way. Are they yeasayers who encourage you to do the right thing and seek your higher power or are they naysayers who encourage you to blow it off and just do what you want with no regard for the consequences?
Pastor Jamal Bryant has a sermon entitled, “I Had to Date Them.” It looks at Judges Chapter 14 about Samson. In it, he says that some people are stinking up your life because they won’t move on or you won’t let them go. When you have a funky life, no one wants to be around you because you stink and that stench is latching onto their lives. You know the saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.” If your friends have messy lives, people will think you have a messy life also.
How are you living your life? When tomorrow comes, where will you be when it’s time to stand before your Creator looking back over your life? Will you see moments of an unlived life? A life where you wanted to give up and probably did or where you could have made a choice to follow your dreams, but chose a life less fulfilling because you had obligations and the two would clash? You only live once. What are you waiting for to live it?
Carla is a certified NCTI Real Colors facilitator and Gallup Strengths Quest certified. Contact her at carla@hmgconsultants.com or visit her website a www.hmgconsultants.com
I Was Just Thinking…
By Carla Daniels
“Who do you think you are Mr. Big Stuff?” That was a song by Jean Knight back in 1971. We danced and shook a tail feather to it. Okay, some of us heard it about 15-20 years later but, hey, it was new to us. That song made me think of the T in A.C.T.I.V.A.T.E.: negative thoughts/thinking.
Our thoughts are killing us; some people actually, others literally. If you grew up hearing that you are a failure yet you have achieved great strides, you sent that desire to your Reticular Activating System. Your RAS is the automatic mechanism inside your brain that brings relevant information to your attention.
Your reticular activating system is like an obedient trained dog. You tell Butch to go get the ball and he goes and gets the ball and brings it back. He will do that until you get tired of telling him to get the ball. What if you threw the ball in a basket of balls, what would Butch do? He would just keep bringing you ball after ball. That is what your RAS does. Once you set a goal or go in search of something you deem important, you send it to your RAS and it goes looking for it. Actually, you start seeing it more because now your RAS has been A.C.T.I.V.A.T.E.D.
This also works in reverse. If you think negative thoughts, you attract negative thoughts and people into your life. You think about it and then you start seeing it. If you keep telling yourself you are a loser, guess what your RAS does? It finds other losers to hang with you. Or better yet, it opens your eyes to see nothing but losers.
How do your overcome this madness? Retune your RAS to search for something different. Stop thinking negative thoughts. If you write down some positive attributes about yourself, say them aloud daily, and believe them, soon you will no longer be the Mayor of Loserville. It sounds easy but it is not. Years of negative conditioning can’t be changed in a day; because this is the era of instant gratification, you may become discouraged and want to stop. Don’t stop. Keep doing it.
Keep telling yourself that you are awesome, you are blessed and highly favored, you are the next best selling author, and your screen play will be the next big thing. Whatever your thought, desire or goal is, you have to put it in your mind. You can think yourself into a new life. There are many books that say think and something. If you put it in your brain, your brain will put it into you and then broadcast it out to the world.
Carla is a certified NCTI Real Colors Facilitator and Gallup Strengths Quest Certified. Contact her at Carla@hmgconsultants.com or visit her website at www.hmgconsultants.com
