Forgivness

To forgive… means willing to throw away our resentment at being wronged. This entails not just containing or restraining our resentment, but letting go of it entirely…

Forgiveness means more then just rolling over and playing dead. There are a few things forgiveness is not, and these may help balance the picture. Forgiveness does not mean pardon. Forgiveness is personal; it refers to the impact an offense has on you and your need to release the resentment you feel. Pardon is legal rather personal, concerned only with the legal status of the offense, not the relationship between the offender and the victim. And pardon, unlike forgiveness, means letting someone off the moral hook and releasing them from the punishment they deserve…

A second thing that forgiveness does not mean is excuse… C. S. Lewis wrote, “ there is all the difference in the world between forgiving and excusing. Forgiveness says: “Yes, you have done this thing, but I accept your apology. I will never hold it against you, and everything between us will be exactly as it was before.’ But excusing says: ‘ I see that you couldn’t help it, or didn’t mean it, you weren’t really to blame.’ If one was not really to blame, then there is nothing to forgive. In that sense, forgiveness and excusing are almost opposites.”

If this is true, we need not to be afraid that in practicing forgiveness we are somehow tolerating wrong or condoning evil. Forgiveness does not mean, “ceasing to blame,” but rather, “letting go of resentment.”

- Allen C. Guelzo

The Challenge of Change

1- Few people really it.
2- Most people don’t know how to do it correctly.
3- Some people know it is essential for growth.

“Reaching your destiny requires that you deal appropriately with many bewildering issues and uncomfortable circumstances.” Samuel R. Chand

Thought

This is a thought that I have been thinking about for a while:

Leadership is not what you say but what you do!

People Statements for Leaders

People quit people, not companies.

Those who start the journey with you, seldom finish the journey with you.

When you get kicked in the rear, it means you’re out in front.

Few leaders are successful unless a lot of people want them to be.

Daily Communication Checklist

Did I:
-Use “soft” answers to de-escalate tension or anger?
-Use cutting words to tear someone down?
-Use encouraging words to build someone up?
-Say the right thing at the right time to help encourage or support someone?
-Listen and understand before I spoke or answered?
-Communicate wisdom and fairness?

Was I:
-Slow to speak or hasty to express my thoughts?
-Truthful and honest?

Solomon’s Keys to Communication

1. Speak in such a way that you make others want to listen.
“The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, but the mouth of fools spouts folly.” Proverbs 15:2

2. Learn to become persuasive.
“The heart of the wise teaches his mouth and adds persuasiveness to his lips.” Proverbs 16:23

3. Listen before speaking.
“He that answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame unto him.” Proverbs 18:13

4. Be slow to speak, and guard your words carefully.
“Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” Proverbs 29:20

5. Stop while you’re ahead.
“When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.” Proverbs 10:19

6. Tell the truth.
“He that hides hatred with lying lips, and he that utters a slander, is a fool.” Proverbs 10:18

Taken from John Maxwell, Maximum Impact monthly leadership training.

The Power of Communication

The Power of Communication

1. Our communication can extinguish anger or escalate it.
2. Our communication can wound others or heal them.
3. Our communication can bring delight or disaster to others.

“The Heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds persuasiveness to his lips.” – Proverbs 16:23

Encouragement #2

1. Encouragement keeps us going.
2. Encouragement makes people better.
3. Encouragement turns life around.
4. Encouragement gives hope.
5. Encouragement empowers groups.

“I’m just a plow hand from Arkansas, but I have learned how to hold a team together. How to lift some men up, how to calm down others, until finally they’ve got one heartbeat together, a team.

There’s just three things I’d ever say: If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, then we did it. If anything goes real good, then you did it. That’s all it takes to get people to win football games for you.” -- Bear Bryant

Encouragement

Encouragement should be…
1- Specific
2- Earned
3- Meaningful
4- Appropriate
5- Honest
6- Balanced
7- Sincere

“You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life.” Zig Ziglar