The Journey Continues

We begin the next phase of our journey here on the pages of t his blog, I want to thank you for your support and encouragement along the way. Your text msgs and cards have been well timed and I am grateful for a group of people who pray regularly for me, Teresa and the ministry of Gilead.

As we wade into the waters of our discussion on vision, I think you may agree with me on this observation...

Vision is a great word to use to motivate, but an incredibly hard thing to grasp.

It doesn't mean you shouldn't pursue and define your mission, it is as Andy says, "It's tough to make vision stick."

He said tough, not impossible.

That is the task ahead of us in the next 8 weeks. We have a great opportunity to impact the lives of people who are truly on the edge of eternity with a clearer picture of what the end of their life may look like. They need HOPE. We have HOPE! It is our task to make sure we keep HOPE as our focus and ask ourselves the necessary questions to assure that HOPE is what we communicate in all we do.

What HOPE? Jesus Christ, the HOPE of all mankind. Our HOPE. To accomplish this we have the privilege of setting the course of how we will support this mission financially, practically and personally.

To finish this weeks time together, here are some thoughts about vision you and I should note from our first dive into the pages of our reading:

...the three primary obstacles to making vision stick are success, failure and everything in between.

~ Vision is about what could be and should be.

~ As important as it is for people in our organizations to embrace out pictures of the future, their lives are consumed with the present. Life is about deadlines and decisions and problem solving, not to mention the kids and the house and the bills and the yard.

~Where there were once two balls to juggle, suddenly....then forty. All of them are important. (Emphasis mine)

~Where once there was one good opportunity to pursue, there are three. And each new opportunity leads to yet another and another. (Emphasis mine again)

~ But if, in spite of all that, there is something in you that refuses to give up and settle for the status quo, you may very well be the person God will use to bring about change.

~ It's possible that God shares your anguish and your passion to make your vision stick.

Ok, there are my thoughts, Andy's thoughts...

Now, what about yours?

Comment away, we need each other...

The process of making the vision "sticky" in our lives has begun, each opportunity to grow comes from our willingness to risk, interact and allow "iron to sharpen iron."

Waiting...