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church cartoons motivation

Flagrant Use of Emojis

Cartoon of a pastor with a disgruntled couple. The wife says, "He can't express his feelings. he even uses emojis incorrectly!"

Emotions are tricky things. We all have them. It’s how we express them that gets complicated. In the workplace, it can get even dicier.

  • Do you let someone know you are going through a hard time?
  • Will it be used against you?
  • Is it appropriate to shed tears of joy when a coworker brings in doughnuts?

One thing I know for sure is the use of emojis at work is still considered inappropriate in most places. A smiley face just doesn’t look right in an email discussing the next round of employee appraisals.

You can try your hand at it if you feel daring. But I have a feeling there are too many guys like the one in today’s cartoon that can’t discern when it’s appropriate to use certain emojis and to whom.

Emojis require interpretation. The sender and the receiver of a message need to be on the same page when communicating. Is the communication clear? Can a heart emoji be misinterpreted as sarcasm or a sincere love? Know your audience before you send that emoji of a pig or a cow!

I drew this for the November 2019 Church of God Newsletter.

Cartoon of a pastor with a disgruntled couple. The wife says, "He can't express his feelings. he even uses emojis incorrectly!"
Categories
motivation

If You’re Stuck, Get Moving!

It’s Sir Isaac Newton’s Three Laws of Motion in Action. Objects in motion, tend to stay in motion. If you’re feeling stuck with some part of your life, the tendency is to wish things will change without doing anyting to change the situation.

If you’re feeling stuck, get moving!

  • Try something new you haven’t done before
  • Change up your routine
  • Quit something that isn’t working and move on to something else

There are no guarantees that things will automatically change. But there is little chance until you make some sort of change and get moving.

Categories
motivation

The Urgent and the Essential

https://twitter.com/HenriNouwen/status/230384864438919168?s=20

This tweet by Henri Nouwen struck me the other day. The work environment can be dominated by the urgent. How many times have you heard, “This job is hot!” from multiple people in the same day?  We are very good at putting a high urgency on jobs, but not very good at tackling the important tasks. We end up stuck in the tyranny of the urgent.

The other day, I had a job that was suddenly hot. I soon found out that there were details missing that were crucial to the success of the job. If I had sent it to the printer without questioning the details, the job would have been done wrong. A rushed job done wrong will be late and will have waste. Urgency can cost us wasted money and time.

The temptation is to jump at the urgent. Take a breath, slow down and ask if this hot job is really important. And if it is, are all the essential details are there to make it a successful job.

Categories
motivation

Lions, Tigers and Bears!

Polar Bear Kahuna

There are times when we have legitimate fears. It can keep us from making foolish choices like betting all your paycheck on a horse, running in traffic without looking for traffic or speeding in a snowstorm. Foolish choices have repercussions.

There are other times when we make excuses for something we know we should be doing. Our imaginations work overtime while the rest of us are lazy.

The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion on the road! Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!”

Proverbs 26:13 NLT

This morning, I smelled a skunk when I went for my run. I hesitated for a moment, then when I checked, it was obvious its stench was nearby while the lovely creature wasn’t. I could have used that as an excuse not to run the moment I smelled the lovely aroma.

We can watch out for excuses that keep us from our full potential. Yes, life is risky and we need to take proper precautions. But It is also good to take some risks and get out there, even if there’s a chance a lion, tiger bear or skunk may be on your path.

Categories
motivation

If Life is a Marathon, Why do we Coast?

Cartoon of two racers. One of them is wearing motor racing gear. The other says, "I get the feeling one of us is wearing the wrong racing gear."

One of the many lessons I learned from running a marathon is that training matters. If you want to finish the race, blowing off long runs and failing to put the mileage in will cost you pain and the likelihood you won’t finish what you came to do.

If life is a marathon, then why do we coast? Why do we get comfortable and lazy? Keep pushing yourself! Do the work to stay competitive in the race of life.

  • Learn something new every day
  • Keep your eyes open to new opportunities
  • Take some risks that might not work but could pay off generously
    • Do something that requires faith
  • Keep your head in the game
    • Be positive
    • Be encouraging
    • Ask what if to possibilities, not what if to past regrets and mistakes
    • Look at every challenge as an opportunity
    • Embrace change

No one has ever fully arrived until they take their last breath. And if you are a person of faith, like me, the race is only beginning at that point as well.