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i recently was listening to someone i have a tremendous amount of respect for, who has always caused me to think BIG!

frankly, he ruffled my feathers on some things in my own life, where i have thought small…where i use to think big, but b/c of the “noise” of life, i have derailed my thinking.

at any rate, my own heart went to a verse of scripture from the book of Ephesians.

Ephesians 3:20 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine [think], according to his power that is at work within us.”

think about this ancient text for a moment. paul is suggesting that God will do things in our lives, beyond our own “thinking”… yet, the piece that stood out to me more than anything else is that paul suggests that his power is at work within us, right now. wow, what a thought!

what areas of your life are you limiting yourself by your thinking? more importantly, what if we made room for God this week, in our thinking? what would life look like? what would our day look like? what would our job look like? what would our relationships look like?

this week…challenge your thinking by thinking BIG!!!

i saw jim collins speak several years back.

you can check his website out here.

the man is brilliant.

i have read good to great several times these last few years.  a must read!

here is a great quote from the book:

 ”It is very important to grasp that LEVEL 5 leadership is not just about humility and modesty.  It is equally about ferocious resolve, an almost stoic determination to do whatever needs to be done to make the company great.”

if you haven’t already, go pick up this book today!

a writer for 43folders uses a quote by guy kawasaki, a venture capitalist, who has some insightful things to say on keeping emails simple and concise.

here is what he has to say:

“How to write a five-sentence email…Whether UR young or old, the point is that the optimal length of an email message is five sentences. All you should do is explain who you are, what you want, why you should get it, and when you need it by.”

i will admit, i have fallen prey to writing those long discourses in emails (more specifically, work emails).  how are you doing in your email spiel?

maybe try the “5 sentence” emails out!

“Even though you may hurt me deliberately, personally, and deeply, I suspend the law of vengeance.  I refrain from the instinctive response of retaliation.  I don’t act on or indulge my desire to see you squirm.  When I forgive you, I set you free from the little prison I have placed in my mind for holding you captive.  I seek to stop entertaining fantasies of vengeance in which you are tortured or fired from you job or suddenly gain fifty pounds.”

well said mr. ortberg.

what shocking news.

sad.

pray for those who are close to him, especially his daughter.

the last couple of days george and i have been hanging out!

i can’t get enough of this kid!

btw: as some of you know, i have a full plate with work and school responsibilities; therefore, these next 3-4 months i have to be extra careful with my time.

with that being said, i make sure that, even if i get home late from work or school, that i get to see george and talk with him (i talk, he gurgles and coos). right before he goes to bed i say my prayers for him, then i end it by telling him that he is:

smart

healthy

kind

compassionate

humble

generous

confident

courageous

i believe that words truly matter.

think about the idea that our words “matter.”

when was the last time you were at the grocery store and little johnny was expressing himself a little too much in the frozen food aisle. ( you know what i am talking about…).

have you ever heard a parent say, “he’s a little devil. he is a mess. he is a problem. etc…”

i know, i know…these words probably arise in all of us when we see kids act out in public. but…what if we bought into this idea that words truly matter? what if we were careful in what we said to our kids or about our kids?

(disclaimer: i know i haven’t been a parent long, but i believe instilling these thoughts, ideas, etc… are paramount to kids development…my only hope is that one day george would speak positive words about those he comes in contact with at work, school, home… seeing people for who they can become.)

i want to give it up for 2 superstars who helped fix my blog theme and give it a complete overhaul…

scott hodge

mike jones

last year i found this fascinating and very interesting website!!  its called, how stuff works.

go check it out here.

my brother-in-law knows i love reading books. so, what did he get me for christmas? a gift card to amazon.com. what a guy!with that gift card i bought the above book, about the life and leadership of theodore roosevelt.not only was he a fascinating president, but also a extraordinary person. i just got done reading some great thoughts on his idea of courage, and how he trained himself to be fearless, or at least give the impression that he was fearless. if anyone has read his back story, you would know, as a young boy he was very sickly, and anything but, courageous.

this is a picture of the fam in indiana! we spent a few days in indiana with kat’s family, as george celebrated his first christmas! obviously this post comes a little late, but as most of you know, i had some issues with my previous skin theme.

all is well with the egly household…i don’t know about you, but as soon as jan. 1 hit, it seems like life got faster!