Categories
motivation

Don’t Just listen, But Do What it Says!

Listening and learning are very important. However, if we do nothing with our newfound knowledge, do we deceive ourselves?

What if my trash company lets me know they will be picking up my garbage early due to a holiday? Now I have some knowledge. Does it do me any good if I just do what I’ve always done and not get my trash to the curb early? No, I’ll just have an overflowing, smelly trash can I’ll need to put up for an additional week.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

James 1:22 NIV

Learning is great. But knowledge without application becomes trivia. I can learn how to start a business, write a blog post or be kind to my neighbor, and do nothing with that knowledge, I’m just deceiving myself.

Let’s learn something new today… and do something with it. You never know. It may change your situation or even the world.

Categories
Business Cartoons

Happy National Coffee Day 2019!

Cartoon of two men talking in a kitchen: "My Major disappointment from working at home is I have no one to blame for a bad cup of coffee."

O coffee, coffee, how sweet the brew!
Caffeine to me, oh thus you imbue.
It brightens me on the way to church,
Your sweet bitters, I do always search.

Happy National Coffee Day! I plan to celebrate with friends in children’s ministry and the lobby this morning. As my cartoon demonstrates, it is better to share it with friends and coworkers than all by your self.

Categories
motivation Proverbs

Get All the Advice and Instruction You Can

Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life.

Proverbs 19:20 NLT

We live in an age where we have access to instant information. If we have a question, we can always Google it on our phones. Libraries have buildings and online version. We have access to online universities, podcasts, and audiobooks. We can communicate with experts on the other side of the world. The opportunities to learn are endless.

At the same time, technology had made knowledge advance at lightning speed. Are you still relying on what you learned in school? That knowledge was probably obsolete by the time you graduated. Even if you are an expert in a field, choosing not to learn more can make you a dinosaur within a few years.

Whether you are just starting in your career, or have been working for decades, there is always something to learn. The old can learn from the young as well as the young from the old.

It is a great time to be a learner. Choose to learn something new every day!

Categories
church cartoons motivation

Church at a Premium

www.dropbox.com/s/2hyvgr8j6r1l2fl/Spear 4146.jpg

My grandfather was a minister. My dad made his career in insurance. You can imagine the discussions they would have about faith, the church and liability!

I’ve been at both the child side and the counselor side of church camps. I’ve seen boys perform feats of skill that defy gravity and all logic. It is a wonder the ambulance wasn’t on twenty-four standby at the camp!

So now that summer is waning, let us rejoice that the kids are back in school and insurance adjusters for churches and church camps can breathe a sigh of relief.

I drew this cartoon for the August, 2019 CHOGnews Newsletter.

Categories
motivation productivity

Working Hard or Hardly Working

I used to believe that hard work was the only thing that makes a person or business prosper. While I believe it is still key, I have observed that hard work is only part of the formula.

Hard work can only get a person so far if they are not kind and empathetic towards coworkers and clients. A person can do superior work, but nobody wants to do business with them because they are a bear to be around. Our emotional intelligence, or EQ, is as important as our IQ.

Hard work doesn’t mean much if a person is working hard at the wrong things. Anyone can work hard at digging a hole, but is the hole good for anything? Does it have a purpose? Is the action in line with the company’s goals?

Hard, good work is essential. It is the fuel that powers creation. It creates value. But hard work without vital relationships and purposeful focus is like the Myth of Sisyphus. A person can roll that boulder up a hill, only to see it roll down and repeat the action.