Are We Good Seeds or Weeds?

Wow, what a week! On Sunday the Giants and Patriots advanced to Super Bowl XLII. I guess I’ll have to be a Giants fan for the last football game of the season!

Since Monday was a federal holiday, our income tax returns were started and after a few hours were almost completed. I’ve used TurboTax Online for several years and highly recommend it if you’re debating what to use this year. Monday evening my personal Mastermind group started up for the New Year with one additional person.

On Tuesday my wife had her…um…39th birthday and we celebrated by going out to brunch. For dinner our daughter fixed fettuccini alfredo, and then we all watched The Bourne Ultimatum.

Wednesday evening our family had a good time of discussion and dessert with our house church. We’re currently doing a guys group and a gals group to get to know one another better.

Once again, Friday evening our family watched a lesson in the video series “Strategies for Success: Blueprint for Achievement” by Zig Ziglar. This third lesson taught about healthy relationships, the power of love and respect, and all the things that people really want.

Some key thoughts from my Scripture reading this week included:

• Am I / are you a good seed planted by God or am I /are you a weed planted by the enemy? (Matthew 13)
• Listen, pay attention, gain understanding, obey and live; Wisdom is supreme, pay all you have to gain understanding (Proverbs 4)
• Ministry requires solitude and prayer (Matthew 14)
• Jesus healed others so that God would be glorified (Matthew 15)
• May he give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed (Ps 20:4)
• Others may intend harm but God intends good to accomplish his purpose (Genesis 50)
• Just like Peter, at any given moment, we can be used of God or we can be used of Satan (Matthew 16)

Bonus thoughts from chapter 1 of Og Mandino's University of Success are: My greatest asset is the ability to read (and think) and my highest aim is to be wise, generous, and loving which are great attributes to be known for.

Being Grateful

Well, the third week of 2008 has come and gone. At least I got to spend part of the week thawing out in the sunny San Diego area on a business trip. Tuesday evening dinner was at The Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens in Escondido CA. Wednesday brought many new people into my life that I will be working with throughout the coming year. These people traveled for our business meeting from California, Utah, Oklahoma, and Georgia.

My shortened time in Scripture this week included the following key thoughts:

• Be grateful, God is with me, I have food to eat (too much!), clothes to wear, and the ability to share with others (Genesis 28)
• The Lord disciplines those he loves, like a father disciplines the son he loves (Proverbs 3)
• Find wisdom, gain understanding, nothing you desire compares to these
• Anything divided against itself will not stand, if you are not for Jesus you are against him (Matthew 3)
• Do not withhold good from the deserving when it is within your power (Proverbs 3)

My 16-year-old son achieved a huge milestone this week by getting his driver’s license. Now the fun chore of shopping for auto insurance begins.

Friday evening our family watched the second lesson in the video series “Strategies for Success: Blueprint for Achievement” by Zig Ziglar. This lesson taught about understanding your own self-talk, improving your self-talk, and being grateful.

Consider the following this week: What are you grateful for? Do you desire to gain wisdom and understanding?