| Listening to Your Soul by Stanley J. Troyer The soul is like a wild animal--tough, resilient, resourceful, savvy, self-sufficient. It knows how to survive in hard places. But it is also shy. Just like a wild animal, it seeks safety in the dense underbrush. If we want to see a wild animal, we know that the last thing we should do is go crashing through the woods yelling for it to come out. But if we will walk quietly into the woods, sit patiently by the base of the tree, and fade into our surroundings, the wild animal we seek might put in an appearance. Parker Palmer, A HIDDEN WHOLENESS. Deer HuntingI have enjoyed deer hunting since I began at age fourteen in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I learned to hunt by being still and waiting for the deer to pass my way. The idea is to make your presence difficult to detect so the deer feels safe and will move about normally, as though you are not present. Listening I have found it is important to quiet the noise of "doing" to be in touch with my soul. Our soul is often 'run over' and ignored in our attempt to be more productive. Being productive gives me a sense of significance. It's based on the assumption that my self-worth equals my performance plus others opinions of me. The Psalmist was in touch with his soul. He said in Psalm 42:1-2a As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. How aware are you of the longings of your soul? Sometimes in my focus on doing I lose touch with my soul. I am so focused on ministry and the needs of my false self that I neglect my soul. Be Still It is so hard to be quiet enough for our soul to be heard especially when the storm clouds are gathering. We face the age old test that the Children of Israel faced at the shores of the Red Sea with the armies of Pharaoh in hot pursuit. There was nowhere to go and they were afraid. But Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the LORD will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. 14The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to keep still." Ex 14:13-14 NRSV (Emphasis mine) "Keeping still" goes against my desire to take action and be in control. It requires absolute surrender of my plans and my ability to plan. I must trust God totally. Keeping quiet and waiting while hunting allows the deer to feel safe enough to go about their normal activities. In the same way stillness creates a safe place for my soul to come out where I am able to be in touch with my deepest desires and longings. Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continuously return. Thomas Kelly My Story While traveling by air to Florida last December I gave myself time and space to "be still" and listen to my soul. I was surprised when I heard my soul say that it would like me to listen more instead of relying so much on my ability to think things through--to make good plans for the future. You Practice
Keep Listening Practice this way of entering into solitude until it becomes routine for you. You will be surprised at what your soul wants to say. Remember practice the skills of a good hunter in the woods. Your soul needs a safe place where you can enjoy the sweet presence of the Lord. Pay attention to your soul. Copyright © 2010 Stanley J Troyer & CRM |
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Listening to Your Soul
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The Answer is the Question
The Answer is the Question
by Dr. Keith E. Webb
by Dr. Keith E. Webb
Are you looking for answers?
We often look for answers in the form of information - books, advice, teaching, etc. However, we make a mistake if we confuse information gathering with learning.
The University of California, San Diego did a study of how much information the average American takes in a day. It's 100,500 words or 34 gigabytes of data - a day! That's like filling your computer's hard drive every two days.
But information does not wisdom make. Just look at the December 2009 attempted airline bombing. The United States' intelligent services had plenty of information on the risk of the bomber, but the information wasn't processed and applied. That's the difference between information and learning.
Learning is not knowledge or information transfer, but about creative adaptation and application. Insightful learning is based on asking questions, rather than offering more information. Questions inherently have potential to produce something new - insights, ideas, strategies, and solutions.
And something practical often results. But don't hold too firm to that bit of learning, satisfied that you've found the answer, everything changes in a blink of an eye.
Like breathing, if you stop learning you die.
In learning, we inhale through questions, and exhale insights, ideas, and new information, which turn toxic if we hang onto them too long.
We breath in oxygen (among other gases) which provides energy to our bodies. We breath out toxic carbon dioxide to cleanse our bodies. If you fail to inhale again carbon dioxide builds up, poisoning your body.
Questions are to learning what oxygen is to our blood. Questions enrich us, stimulate our learning, and dislodge potentially "toxic" ideas and strategies that we've hung onto too long.
In fact, just as soon as we communicate our "bits of brilliance," it's time to inhale with a few more questions if we want to go on living. Like breathing, questions are necessary to continue to learn, adapt, and grow.
The answer, you see, is questions.
Questions
- What's the last "brilliant" question you heard?
- How could you improve your questions when looking for answers?
- When looking at information, ask yourself, What meaning does this have for me?
-------Join the dialogue and leave your comments here-------
Copyright © 2010 Keith E. Webb & CRM
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Monday, January 18, 2010
Soul Care
by Stanley Troyer
"Please put on your own mask before assisting others." These are the instructions given by the flight attendant before "take off" when traveling by air. They are given in case there should be a loss of cabin pressure while in flight.
Why the instruction to put your own mask on first? Wouldn't it be better to help others first?
Once I have a good supply of oxygen I will be free to help others without risk to myself or others. However if I try to help others first I may help a few people but soon I will need help.
Do we face similar challenges as pastors and church leaders? How important is for us to take care of our souls before offering spiritual leadership to others? What happens when we neglect our own soul to care of others?
It Seems Selfish
You ask, isn't it selfish to care for myself as a first priority? It doesn't seem right to set limits on being available to help others in order to take care of myself. In addition I may fail to meet the expectations of the people I am leading.
Didn't Jesus say we should deny ourselves? Actually what Jesus says is "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition. . ." Matt 16:24 NLT emphasis added.
I believe Jesus is calling us to deny our inclination to pursue our selfish ambition or the desires of my sin damaged self. Jesus says I need to deny my selfish ambition not the nurturing of my soul.
Jesus Also Says
"And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?" Matt 16:26 NLT. Here Jesus is admonishing us to take care of our souls.
I see instructions in this passage to not neglect caring for our souls in order be successful in ministry. "Selfish ambition" grows out of my need for significance and fulfillment. I am tempted to find this in my ministry accomplishments. This leads me to neglect my own well being - the well being of my body, mind and soul.
Knowing this Jesus says, "Come to me . . . and I will give you rest." Matt 11:28
Jesus called his disciples to be with him before he sent them out to minister. After a very successful ministry he invited them to "get away and rest" (Mark 6:31). Jesus practiced a rhythm of work and rest. He often escaped the demands of ministry and retreated to lonely places to nurture his own soul. He taught his disciples to do the same.
Jesus Speaks to Me
"Please put on your own mask before assisting others." These are the instructions given by the flight attendant before "take off" when traveling by air. They are given in case there should be a loss of cabin pressure while in flight.
Why the instruction to put your own mask on first? Wouldn't it be better to help others first?
Once I have a good supply of oxygen I will be free to help others without risk to myself or others. However if I try to help others first I may help a few people but soon I will need help.
Do we face similar challenges as pastors and church leaders? How important is for us to take care of our souls before offering spiritual leadership to others? What happens when we neglect our own soul to care of others?
It Seems Selfish
You ask, isn't it selfish to care for myself as a first priority? It doesn't seem right to set limits on being available to help others in order to take care of myself. In addition I may fail to meet the expectations of the people I am leading.
Didn't Jesus say we should deny ourselves? Actually what Jesus says is "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition. . ." Matt 16:24 NLT emphasis added.
I believe Jesus is calling us to deny our inclination to pursue our selfish ambition or the desires of my sin damaged self. Jesus says I need to deny my selfish ambition not the nurturing of my soul.
Jesus Also Says
"And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?" Matt 16:26 NLT. Here Jesus is admonishing us to take care of our souls.
I see instructions in this passage to not neglect caring for our souls in order be successful in ministry. "Selfish ambition" grows out of my need for significance and fulfillment. I am tempted to find this in my ministry accomplishments. This leads me to neglect my own well being - the well being of my body, mind and soul.
Knowing this Jesus says, "Come to me . . . and I will give you rest." Matt 11:28
Jesus called his disciples to be with him before he sent them out to minister. After a very successful ministry he invited them to "get away and rest" (Mark 6:31). Jesus practiced a rhythm of work and rest. He often escaped the demands of ministry and retreated to lonely places to nurture his own soul. He taught his disciples to do the same.
Jesus Speaks to Me
Jesus seems to be saying, "What do you gain Stan, if you care well for many others, nurturing their souls and seeing them grow but you fail to take care of your own. Your soul needs time to be alone with Me in a posture of listening. It needs a balance so that 'doing' flows out of 'being'.
You must put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others. You need to live for the audience of 'One' rather than to please the many".
Commitment
"Please put on your own mask before assisting others." Let's make it a priority to experience frequent times of renewal for our whole being. This means making time to nurture my soul so that my doing flows out of my being. Let's keep our souls refreshed in the Lord. Why not begin observing a Sabbath rest every seven days?
(Please note: This article was inspired by the book, Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership - Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry by Ruth Haley Barton)
You must put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others. You need to live for the audience of 'One' rather than to please the many".
Commitment
"Please put on your own mask before assisting others." Let's make it a priority to experience frequent times of renewal for our whole being. This means making time to nurture my soul so that my doing flows out of my being. Let's keep our souls refreshed in the Lord. Why not begin observing a Sabbath rest every seven days?
(Please note: This article was inspired by the book, Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership - Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry by Ruth Haley Barton)
Friday, December 18, 2009
Self Leadership
The Challenge?
What is the biggest challenge you are facing as a leader? Based on my experience as a leader and from listening to other leaders I am suggesting that it is the ability to take care of ourselves. Reality is unless we pay attention to our well being we will not reach our potential and our influence will plateau.
For many of us feel that self care is selfish. Yet Jesus frequently escaped into the mountains to spend time with God. If it was important for Jesus perhaps I should reconsider.
What follows is a quote from an article printed in Leadership Magazine February 13, 2006, The Art of Self Leadership by Bill Hybels. (The emphasis in bold is mine)
The Art of Self Leadership by Bill Hybels
Your toughest management challenge is always yourself.
"Last summer I read an article that created some disequilibrium for me. The author, Dee Hock, challenged leaders to calculate how much time and energy they invest in each of these directions-people beneath them, over them, peers, and leading themselves. Since he's been thinking and writing about leadership for over 20 years and is a laureate in the Business Hall of Fame, I wanted his wisdom.
His recommendation: "We should invest 50 percent of our leadership amperage into the task of leading ourselves; and the remaining 50 percent should be divided into leading down, leading up, and leading laterally." His numbers bothered me so much I put the article away. But I let it simmer, which is my normal practice when someone messes with my mind.
While that was simmering, I read an article by Daniel Goleman, the author of the best-selling book, Emotional Intelligence. Since that book was released in 1997, Goleman has been spending his time analyzing why some leaders develop to their fullest potential and why most hit a plateau far from their full potential.
His conclusion? The difference is (you guessed it) self-leadership. He calls it "emotional self-control." What characterizes maximized leadership potential, according to Goleman? Tenaciously staying in leadership despite overwhelming opposition or discouragement. Staying in the leadership game and maintaining sober-mindedness during times of crisis. Keeping ego at bay. Staying focused on the mission instead of being distracted by someone else's agenda. All these indicate high levels of emotional self-control. Goleman says, "Exceptional leaders distinguish themselves because of superior self-leadership."
What About You?
Quiet yourself before the Lord then listen to your heart's answers to the following questions:
What is the biggest challenge you are facing as a leader? Based on my experience as a leader and from listening to other leaders I am suggesting that it is the ability to take care of ourselves. Reality is unless we pay attention to our well being we will not reach our potential and our influence will plateau.
For many of us feel that self care is selfish. Yet Jesus frequently escaped into the mountains to spend time with God. If it was important for Jesus perhaps I should reconsider.
What follows is a quote from an article printed in Leadership Magazine February 13, 2006, The Art of Self Leadership by Bill Hybels. (The emphasis in bold is mine)
The Art of Self Leadership by Bill Hybels
Your toughest management challenge is always yourself.
"Last summer I read an article that created some disequilibrium for me. The author, Dee Hock, challenged leaders to calculate how much time and energy they invest in each of these directions-people beneath them, over them, peers, and leading themselves. Since he's been thinking and writing about leadership for over 20 years and is a laureate in the Business Hall of Fame, I wanted his wisdom.
His recommendation: "We should invest 50 percent of our leadership amperage into the task of leading ourselves; and the remaining 50 percent should be divided into leading down, leading up, and leading laterally." His numbers bothered me so much I put the article away. But I let it simmer, which is my normal practice when someone messes with my mind.
While that was simmering, I read an article by Daniel Goleman, the author of the best-selling book, Emotional Intelligence. Since that book was released in 1997, Goleman has been spending his time analyzing why some leaders develop to their fullest potential and why most hit a plateau far from their full potential.
His conclusion? The difference is (you guessed it) self-leadership. He calls it "emotional self-control." What characterizes maximized leadership potential, according to Goleman? Tenaciously staying in leadership despite overwhelming opposition or discouragement. Staying in the leadership game and maintaining sober-mindedness during times of crisis. Keeping ego at bay. Staying focused on the mission instead of being distracted by someone else's agenda. All these indicate high levels of emotional self-control. Goleman says, "Exceptional leaders distinguish themselves because of superior self-leadership."
What About You?
Quiet yourself before the Lord then listen to your heart's answers to the following questions:
- "We should invest 50% of our leadership energies into the task of leading ourselves." Do you agree? Why or why not?
- What percent of your leadership energies are currently going into the task of leading yourself?
- Does this percentage include time to care for your body as well as your soul?
- What is the most important thing you can do to increase the percentage of time you spend leading yourself? Create at least one action step that will increase your percentage.
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