Planted

I think we confuse being buried with being planted. The process is similar, but the results are different. Both journeys involve isolation. Both journeys involve transition. Both journeys are emotional. Both journeys involve change. All of which can be areas of struggle. We tend to fight what we can’t control. We make the journey more difficult than it needs to be. Ask God, “am I being buried or planted?”

Glean

I love the story of Ruth and Naomi. There are so many reasons why this relationship should have ended, but it didn't. Naomi encourages Ruth to move on, which ultimately sets her up for her next blessing, Boaz. It was in Boaz’s field that he found Naomi gleaning. Gleaning by definition means to gather after harvest or to extract from multiple sources. What are you gleaning? More importantly, where are you gleaning? We need to glean in fields that still have something after a harvest- meaning a source that has more than enough, overflow. We need to glean from sources that have the ability to produce our next blessing. We need to glean from people, situations, and relationships. We must be in the proper position, with the right people to glean. Ruth was with Naomi, in Boaz’s field. Where are you? Who are you with? Can you glean?

Favored

There are a couple of names that come to mind when I think about being favored. Abram. Mary. Elizabeth. Joseph. We tend to think that somehow favor means that we won’t endure hardships. Not so. In fact, Mary saw her son crucified, and Joseph was sold into slavery. I am starting to think that favor has more to do with God’s ability to trust you with hardships. When you are favored, God knows you will lean into him during hardships instead of choosing to run away. God knows that the result of testing your faith, will make you a better witness and ultimately a better disciple. Have your found yourself in a season of testing? Have you felt like it was too much for you to bear? Ask yourself are you favored?

Uncomfortable

Greatness lies on the outside of your comfort zone. You have to be uncomfortable to do great things. You have to step into the unfamiliar. You have to do a new thing. You have to be open- minded. You have to be uncomfortable. I know it doesn’t feel good. You are all by yourself. It’s lonely. It’s different, but it’s good.

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”

- Neale Donald Walsch

Detach

"The root of suffering is attachment." -Buddha

There is a meme of a bloody hand holding a rope and the words, "sometimes holding on does more damage than letting go." How many of us are damaged because we would not detach? We held on to toxic relationships. We stayed too long because we thought things would change, and we ended up damaged. We ended up bitter. We ended up insecure. We ended up suffering. We have parasitic connections to people, places, and things. Let Go! Detach before its too late.

Deter

Do not be deterred. Do not be distracted. Do not lose focus. Distraction is a tactic of the enemy. The distractions may seem small at first. You might cancel an appointment or reschedule a meeting. You might oversleep. You might get stuck in traffic. Don’t be fooled. Keep moving forward one step at a time. There will always be a lot more reasons to give up than to press forward. Focus on the one thing. Streamline. Have tunnel vision. Recognize the trick to deter you.

Operations

Operations always gets it done. We are the team of people who execute the vision. We translate the goals and objectives. We make them real and tangible things. We are responsible for major profits and losses. We have to own our wins and our losses. We are the functionality of the company. Every organization has an Ops team. In your family, there is a select group of individuals who “ get it done.” Identify your operations team. Give them realistic goals and allow them to execute the vision. Every vision has to have a plan. Write the vision. Then trust your operations team. This is the year to collaborate and make it happen.