Working by faith....

When they arrived at Capernaum, the tax men came to Peter and asked, "Does your teacher pay taxes?" Peter said, "Of course." But as soon as they were in the house, Jesus confronted him. "Simon, what do you think? When a king levies taxes, who pays—his children or his subjects?" He answered, "His subjects." Jesus said, "Then the children get off free, right? But so we don't upset them needlessly, go down to the lake, cast a hook, and pull in the first fish that bites. Open its mouth and you'll find a coin. Take it and give it to the tax men. It will be enough for both of us." 
~Matthew 17:24-27 (The Message)

True creativity quite simply starts with balancing your emotions and activating the power of the heart. Through practicing emotional management from the heart, you tap into the highest form of creativity possible--recreating your perceptions of reality.
~Doc Childre

Every era has a currency that buys souls. In some the currency is pride, in others it is hope, in still others it is a holy cause. There are of course times when hard cash will buy souls, and the remarkable thing is that such times are marked by civility, tolerance, and the smooth working of everyday life.
~Eric Hoffer

Our lives can become cluttered by many things.  Some are obvious, such as material things, the stuff we collect.  I really wish I were able to give a lesson on how to prioritize the material things-how to sort them, dispose of some, and put the rest in order-but I'm not qualified... But how well I know that we can surround ourselves with the material things to the extent that we have no time for the spiritual.  Look around and you will see all the gadgets and toys and the nice and the fun things that cause us to squander and pay and to wander and play.

~ William R. Bradford

Running a business is a balancing act of the heart. Things can become clouded by the bottom line of financial expediency so very easily and I can forget that the Creator of the Universe lives in me and He is and will always be enough to provide for me and my business.

I tend to put issues and ideas into nice little boxes and categories and then make decisions based on how I have sorted and filed them from my past experiences and training. God has been spending an large chunk of time in my life breaking open those neat little boxes and splattering the contents all around me. All the while asking me to look at the sense that the chaos is truly making.

I haven't written this journal in a while, mainly because I didn't feel I had much to say. Then this morning I have this story of Jesus and Peter wandering around in my heart and head.....and I am "seeing" how easily I have fallen into Peter's perspective and just looked at the "reality" of life rather than the "eternity" of life. Then I realized that Jesus sent Peter BACK to what he had been called to LEAVE and abandon as a vocation and means of providing the "cash" of life in order to pay a fee that he could not pay....by the way, not only for himself, but for Jesus also!!!! Peter went back to "fish" for the money to pay the tax. But he was told very specifically to just catch the one fish and the need would be provided through that one fish.

I then realized how often I place the activity I have left behind to follow God as the thing I am no longer to do than the essence of what that activity had become for me. Peter trusted in fishing for his life's sustenance. He was again and again shown that the activity of fishing was not a "why".....the point nor the problem .....just a "how" choice to be surrendered into God's hands to use as He wants to.....and He seems to just love blowing our minds with crazy provisions like finding our tax money in the mouth of a fish!!

I want to live in the miraculous.....and yet how often do I demand that the miraculous fits into one of those neat little boxes or categories that I have "figured" out. God seems to be reminding me of late that the "how" is really not an issue.....He is completely capable of providing abundantly in ways I can NOT even begin to imagine. I have watched this happen over the past month is various areas of my life and business. AND I am learning that the training that I have and continue to go through is part of what God has prepared me to lead others through. How fun is that?????

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

~Paul in a letter to the Ephesians 3:20-21

Extreme Dreams, LLC
Kathy Douglas
President
10603 Grant Rd. Ste 110
Houston, TX 77070
Office - 281-890-5034
Fax - 281-890-0300
Cell - 713-398-7304
www.extreme-dreams.net/
www.extremedreamsevents.com

kathyd@extreme-dreams.net

"Helping people enjoy the Journey as much as the Destination"

Visit my coaching journal at:

http://extreme-dreams.blogspot.com/

 

 

The loss of a friend....

Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.

~ George Eliot

 

 In prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends.

 ~John Churton Collins

 

 A friend is someone who can sing you the song of your heart when you've forgotten it.

~ Unknown

 

 When a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it.

 ~Edgar Watson Howe

 

 Care is the ingredient that keeps true friendships alive despite separation, distance, or time. Care gives latitude to another person and gets you past the dislikes and annoyances. Quite simply, caring sustains love.

~Sara Paddison

 

On Monday evening, one of my dear and best friends died. Toni Fitzgerald has been an important part of my life for over 18 years. I first met her as a consultant in Mary Kay. My girls can even remember the day we went to her "open house" to celebrate her winning her first Mary Kay VIP car! Sara and Sydney were just little girls....maybe 3 years old....and they remember Keith and Toni taking care of getting cake and setting them a little table to eat at. I guess that was the day I simply fell in love with Keith and Toni. They loved and cared for my children and that was all it took for me to see their great heart.

 

Through the years Toni became a Sales Director and we shared meetings, training seminars, and so many laughs and conversations. I remember the first time she admitted to me that I intimidated her! I was so shocked to hear that I intimidated anyone much less HER.....and she laughed and said she completely understood cause when she got to know me, she couldn't imagine being intimidated by me either!! We became fast friends from that day forward.

 

Toni was the one who was there for me when the challenges of starting Extreme Dreams was in its infancy. I would have trashed the whole thing many times had it not been for her constant and firm belief in God's dream....and my part in it. The most powerful gift she gave me was a word from God that He gave her in the shower in May of 1999....to understand the difference between Hope and Expectation. I spent a full day focusing on what God had to say in the Bible....and it changed everything. Toni has been a part of this Extreme Dream from the beginning.....and will ALWAYS be a part of it.

 

Toni and her husband moved to Oklahoma shortly after that....and we remained close through phone calls and visits....she left me with one of my favorite CDs as a parting gift...."Touched by an Angel". I listen to it so often....and think of her every time for she was God's angel in my life. Now she is singing with those very angels in His Presence. It was in Oklahoma that the cancer returned to Toni's body.....in 1999. And it was my turn to hold her up and encourage her. She fought a valiant fight....and we would share our battles and encourage one another......I will miss her beautiful and strong voice.

 

Toni is no longer here physically to talk to, to write to, or to see......I miss her.....and will until the day I see her again. I hope that each of you have a friend like Toni......whose presence is so powerful in your life that it will always be there even when they are not.

 

Don't leave your friends or your parents' friends and run home to your family when things get rough; Better a nearby friend than a distant family.

~Proverbs 27:10 (The Message)

 

Extreme Dreams, LLC
Kathy Douglas
President
10603 Grant Rd. Ste 110
Houston, TX 77070
Office - 281-890-5034
Fax - 281-890-0300
Cell - 713-398-7304
www.extreme-dreams.net/
www.exdevents.com

kathyd@extreme-dreams.net

"Helping people enjoy the Journey as much as the Destination"

Visit my coaching journal at:

http://extreme-dreams.blogspot.com/