I really, REALLY, needed THIS today.
"As The Federalist notes, the turning point was June 4. At that time, it was made manifest to all careful observers, not to mention more than a few casual observers, that the lock downs and restrictions were political. They were simply a form of partisan crowd control. This realization extends to the masking mandates, which are being driven by the same political agenda. This whole thing was high hypocrisy. It was hypocrisy on stilts. Consequently, our conclusion ought to be no more lock downs, no more restrictions, no more masks. The people dictating these things to us are not sincere. They are not telling us the truth." -- Douglas Wilson, 7 Reasons for Unmasking the Masks
Read the full article by clicking HERE.
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
day no. 15,234 continued... masters are not made overnight
The other day my son, Finneas, explained that he was trying to build a tower out of books in the basement, but it kept falling over. Then he said he remembered the blooper reels at the end of Danny MacAskill videos we watch and how we've discussed before that these show how hard he tries and how often he fails before getting the picture perfect take that we see in the polished, edited video beforehand.
I often tell my children, "If you want to be good at something, you have to be willing to be bad at it first."
Then that same week, I came across this quote in a book I was reading,
“The greatest threat to success is not failure but boredom. We get bored with habits because they stop delighting us. The outcome becomes expected. And as our habits become ordinary, we start derailing our progress to seek novelty.” -- James Clear, Atomic Habits
Sometimes we fear failure, sometimes we fear the same ol' same ol'. We don't want to look bad, but we don't want to be bored with being ok either. We fail to be great because we can't handle the monotony that accompanies becoming great and often one of the key differences between the great and the only ok is that the great have the endurance to do what's required over and over without giving up or getting bored.
As Oswald Chambers initially taught me, "The good is always the enemy of the best." Being good enough is the most obvious reason to forego getting any better.
Then before preaching this last Sunday, I was speaking to Keaton about house projects and he mentioned a concept he embraced years back that has helped him tackle and complete many a DIY: "Plan to pay the dumb tax." This is easy to remember because it's not hard to associate paying taxes with dumbness as in, "I'm not paying your dumb tax." But that was not the point Keaton was making. He was pointing to a principle: the first time you do anything, you will have to pay the dumb tax. Whatever you do first, you will do poorly, at least compared to how good you will get at it if you have the chutzpah to do it again. Cuts will have to made twice before you learn how to do them just the once. Things will have to be unscrewed or unbolted and done over or in a different order before you're able to do them efficiently and just the once. The dumb tax is what you pay in order to learn enough to do it better the next time. All skills are learned and acquired by paying the dumb tax. All smart people have paid their dumb tax. The real dummies are the ones who never pay it.
Then today, I read this,
"If difficult goals could be achieved quickly, more people would be achievers." -- John Wooden, Wooden on Leadership
Seems like God is banging the same drum a lot for me lately. Perhaps this is a lesson I need to deeply learn: a mere taste of the medicine required to treat the malady of fear and pride,
"In order to be good at something, you have to be willing to be bad at it."
And once good at it, to not grow bored with being good enough so that you fall below grade, but staying hungry and motivated and able to endure monotony in order to be a master at something.
Masters are not made overnight.
I often tell my children, "If you want to be good at something, you have to be willing to be bad at it first."
Then that same week, I came across this quote in a book I was reading,
“The greatest threat to success is not failure but boredom. We get bored with habits because they stop delighting us. The outcome becomes expected. And as our habits become ordinary, we start derailing our progress to seek novelty.” -- James Clear, Atomic Habits
Sometimes we fear failure, sometimes we fear the same ol' same ol'. We don't want to look bad, but we don't want to be bored with being ok either. We fail to be great because we can't handle the monotony that accompanies becoming great and often one of the key differences between the great and the only ok is that the great have the endurance to do what's required over and over without giving up or getting bored.
As Oswald Chambers initially taught me, "The good is always the enemy of the best." Being good enough is the most obvious reason to forego getting any better.
Then before preaching this last Sunday, I was speaking to Keaton about house projects and he mentioned a concept he embraced years back that has helped him tackle and complete many a DIY: "Plan to pay the dumb tax." This is easy to remember because it's not hard to associate paying taxes with dumbness as in, "I'm not paying your dumb tax." But that was not the point Keaton was making. He was pointing to a principle: the first time you do anything, you will have to pay the dumb tax. Whatever you do first, you will do poorly, at least compared to how good you will get at it if you have the chutzpah to do it again. Cuts will have to made twice before you learn how to do them just the once. Things will have to be unscrewed or unbolted and done over or in a different order before you're able to do them efficiently and just the once. The dumb tax is what you pay in order to learn enough to do it better the next time. All skills are learned and acquired by paying the dumb tax. All smart people have paid their dumb tax. The real dummies are the ones who never pay it.
Then today, I read this,
"If difficult goals could be achieved quickly, more people would be achievers." -- John Wooden, Wooden on Leadership
Seems like God is banging the same drum a lot for me lately. Perhaps this is a lesson I need to deeply learn: a mere taste of the medicine required to treat the malady of fear and pride,
"In order to be good at something, you have to be willing to be bad at it."
And once good at it, to not grow bored with being good enough so that you fall below grade, but staying hungry and motivated and able to endure monotony in order to be a master at something.
Masters are not made overnight.
day no. 15,234: young heads on old shoulders
"We can’t put young heads on old shoulders, even if we were to attempt to do it." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Soul Winner: How to Lead Sinners to the Saviour
Young men need wisdom and older men need energy. Young men have energy, but don't know what to do with it. Older men know what to do, but are too tired or impatient to do it or teach others to do it.
Proverbs 20:29
The glory of young men is their strength,
but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.
As much as we might wish younger men were smarter and that older men were more motivated, they won't be unless they catch of vision of benefiting each other. It will cost the young man a great deal in humility in order to be under the authority of an old fuddy duddy and it will cost the older man a great deal of patience in order to teach a young man what to do and when to do it.
1 John 2:12-14
I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.
I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
God has given certain gifts to certain stages. Young men and older men have different strengths. These can either complement each other or they can battle each other. If they fight against each other, neither will win. If they fight, side by side, on the same team with each other against the evil one, everyone except the evil one wins!
Young men need wisdom and older men need energy. Young men have energy, but don't know what to do with it. Older men know what to do, but are too tired or impatient to do it or teach others to do it.
Proverbs 20:29
The glory of young men is their strength,
but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.
As much as we might wish younger men were smarter and that older men were more motivated, they won't be unless they catch of vision of benefiting each other. It will cost the young man a great deal in humility in order to be under the authority of an old fuddy duddy and it will cost the older man a great deal of patience in order to teach a young man what to do and when to do it.
1 John 2:12-14
I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.
I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
God has given certain gifts to certain stages. Young men and older men have different strengths. These can either complement each other or they can battle each other. If they fight against each other, neither will win. If they fight, side by side, on the same team with each other against the evil one, everyone except the evil one wins!
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
day no. 15,233 continued... not milk sops
"Thank God He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a glad thing, but it is also a heroic, holy thing. It tests us for all we are worth. Jesus is bringing many 'sons unto glory,' and God will not shield us from the requirements of a son. God’s grace turns out men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not milk sops. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the noble life of a disciple of Jesus in actual things. It is always necessary to make an effort to be noble."-- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest
No one is noble by accident.
No one walks the narrow path without effort.
You cannot stay on the straight path without keeping your balance. Balance is an energy filled, intentional exertion against falling either direction, not a static state of lackadaisical loitering.
No one is noble by accident.
No one walks the narrow path without effort.
You cannot stay on the straight path without keeping your balance. Balance is an energy filled, intentional exertion against falling either direction, not a static state of lackadaisical loitering.
day no. 15,233: irreplaceable aims are impossible to follow
"If you can jump into a good man’s shoes and follow the path he walked, you’ll be fortunate. It’s always a good sign when the horses don’t know they have a new driver." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Soul Winner: How to Lead Sinners to the Saviour
A good leader aims at being replaceable.
2 Timothy 2:2
What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
Those who desire to be irreplaceable aim at making their legacy impossible to follow.
1 Corinthians 11:1
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
A good leader paves a path in such a way as to anticipate the needs of those who will follow and those who will continue to blaze forward.
Philippians 4:9
What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
A good leader is excited about where he's going and wants everyone else to end up where he's aiming. His goal is not merely to have people following him, but to have more people end up where he is getting himself to going.
In other words, if the goal is God, then leading people is valuable inasmuch as it helps them get to where you're trying to go. So as a leader, you must be a follower of God and your success must be measured not by how many get caught up in your personal train, but how many get caught up in the train of the God the leader is caught up in or by how many were captivated by that which captivated their leader.
Ephesians 4:8, 11-13
When He ascended on high He led a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men... And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ
A good leader aims at being replaceable.
2 Timothy 2:2
What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
Those who desire to be irreplaceable aim at making their legacy impossible to follow.
1 Corinthians 11:1
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
A good leader paves a path in such a way as to anticipate the needs of those who will follow and those who will continue to blaze forward.
Philippians 4:9
What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
A good leader is excited about where he's going and wants everyone else to end up where he's aiming. His goal is not merely to have people following him, but to have more people end up where he is getting himself to going.
In other words, if the goal is God, then leading people is valuable inasmuch as it helps them get to where you're trying to go. So as a leader, you must be a follower of God and your success must be measured not by how many get caught up in your personal train, but how many get caught up in the train of the God the leader is caught up in or by how many were captivated by that which captivated their leader.
Ephesians 4:8, 11-13
When He ascended on high He led a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men... And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ
Monday, July 6, 2020
day no. 15,232: a well-oiled machine produces well-trained men
"Every Marine, from the Commandant down, is a follower. The good followers, those who may be depended on to carry out their instructions precisely, without regard to difficulty, hazard, or personal risk, are the substance of the Corps. And where combat circumstance, as it often does, suddenly thrust upon the follower the responsibilities of a leader, those who are properly indoctrinated seize the opportunity and succeed.” -- MCWP 6-10
Good leaders prepare their followers to lead.
Genesis 14:14
And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
Good leaders are good followers and good followers make good leaders.
1 Corinthians 11:1
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
Every leader must follow and lead in such a way as to prepare the next person to lead in their absence, to pass the baton and to carry on the discipline of leading by following and leading followers to lead.
2 Timothy 2:1-4
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.
Good leaders prepare their followers to lead.
Genesis 14:14
And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
Good leaders are good followers and good followers make good leaders.
1 Corinthians 11:1
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
Every leader must follow and lead in such a way as to prepare the next person to lead in their absence, to pass the baton and to carry on the discipline of leading by following and leading followers to lead.
2 Timothy 2:1-4
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.
Sunday, July 5, 2020
day no. 15,231: fear, fog and friction
"Leaders are responsible for the discipline necessary to produce orderly, coordinated action, which triumphs over the fear, fog, and friction of battle... The key to discipline is establishing and maintaining standards. It is before combat that leaders establish and inculcate standards." -- MCWP 6-10
Discipline overcomes fear, fog and friction.
Fear preaches convincing sermons. If you are not in the habit of practicing faith, you will be compelled by the winsome, powerful, and persuasive sermons fear is poised to preach in combat and battle scenarios.
Fog sometimes fills the air and it is unclear what to do or what's going on. If you are not in the habit of thinking clearly, you will succumb to the grayness of the fog and fail to see through it or beyond it.
Friction is the force resisting your will and pushing back upon it. It is the energy created by an opposite will attempting to impose itself upon you or resist your will upon it. Friction feels like failure. If you are not in the habit of pushing through, you will be tempted to believe that the push back is a sign that you're on the wrong track or on the right track, but unlikely to succeed.
Discipline helps one overcome fear, fog and friction by developing the habits of faith, discernment and endurance before they are required.
Discipline overcomes fear, fog and friction.
Fear preaches convincing sermons. If you are not in the habit of practicing faith, you will be compelled by the winsome, powerful, and persuasive sermons fear is poised to preach in combat and battle scenarios.
Fog sometimes fills the air and it is unclear what to do or what's going on. If you are not in the habit of thinking clearly, you will succumb to the grayness of the fog and fail to see through it or beyond it.
Friction is the force resisting your will and pushing back upon it. It is the energy created by an opposite will attempting to impose itself upon you or resist your will upon it. Friction feels like failure. If you are not in the habit of pushing through, you will be tempted to believe that the push back is a sign that you're on the wrong track or on the right track, but unlikely to succeed.
Discipline helps one overcome fear, fog and friction by developing the habits of faith, discernment and endurance before they are required.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)