DeneenTB

Helping you to do MORE for God through your Work

Worship

Practice Sabbath

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Sabbath is one of my favorite Spiritual Practices. It gives me 24-hours to relax, refresh, and remain connected to the Father. Do you trust God enough to take a Sabbath each week? That was the question I needed to ask myself AND I needed God to show me that I could.

Sabbath Begins

My Sabbath has evolved since I first started making this practice part of my week. At first, I wasn’t sure what to do except put away all my ‘work’. That could be hard because my mind does not stop thinking about my projects just because I don’t have it open on my computer.

So, I decided to save certain things for my Sabbath time. They are projects of a personal nature, things that truly relax me, or activities that I can indulge in without guilt. What I have found is that when I take this time apart, I come back to my work (my business) with new enthusiasm and ideas.

Another reason I decided on really showing up in an intentional way for my Sabbath is that I am not always able to go to church services. With my MS, it is not ‘restful’ for me to get up on a Sunday morning, get ready, and go to church. Since I am an entrepreneur, I need downtime for my body to recuperate after a week of working my business.

My Sabbath

What does my Sabbath look like? It starts on Saturday evening between 4-6pm and goes until that time on Sunday. I am trying a new thing by going to the Saturday service at my church as much as I am able. I like that it kicks off Sabbath for me. Each week I plan something that I am going to do. It can be something as simple as a bath to having brunch with a group of girlfriends. I love saving books to read and watching movies with my daughters.

One thing that is super important for me is an extended prayer-time with God. I do meet with God each day for Bible study and prayer, BUT this is time set apart to focus on people, projects, and relationships. It is time for me to listen to what God is impressing on me. Of course, I use my journal and colored pens to give me focus.

Begin Sabbath

What are some activities that recharge you? Think about things you really enjoy and allow yourself to do them during your Sabbath. What 24-hour period works best for you? There is no ‘set’ way to do this. God gave us the example of Sabbath way back in Genesis, not because He needed it but because He knew we would.

I would LOVE to give you a list of Sabbath Ideas to get you started. You can download them by clicking HERE.

Start this week with just one thing you really enjoy. Create the Sabbath that works for you and gives you the rest you need. Trust God that your business will be there (and flourish) when you obey His Command to Sabbath.

Be filled to overflowing,

Deneen

 

Quiet Retreat Day

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Quiet Retreat

But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.   Matthew 6:6 (NLT)

Your Day

The Quiet Retreat day will begin with a group discussion and instructions for your day in a common area. Each participant will have a room and restroom to themselves at the Retreat Center. There are various trails and places to go outdoors as well.

You may leave whenever you wish or need to do so. Before you go you will be asked to write a letter to yourself that will be given to the instructor to mail to you one month after. More detailed instructions will be given at the beginning of the day as to what to write about.

What to Bring

You will need to bring your own lunch and items for use of the beds ‘on top’ of the covers.  Recommended list of possible items: Bible, journal, writing instruments, devotional book, yoga mat, covers, pillow, etc. For outdoor activities: Tennis shoes, blanket, bubbles, etc. You may ‘do’ whatever you like in your room as long as it does not entail any noise. More detailed instructions will be given at the discussion group time if you are lacking ideas about your day.

Connect with God

The Quiet Retreat is a great way to connect your heart to God’s heart. He does speak when you take time to listen. AND, OCTOBER will be a Beautiful time to spend with Him. Do you need a Strategy Session with your CEO?

A Quiet Retreat is a very powerful way keep focused on where God wants you to go and how He wants you to continue this year.

This time is for YOU to connect to God in a way that is intimate and a true time of discovery. I look forward to guiding you through this important Spiritual Practice as you learn true intimacy with HIM.

Be filled to overflowing,

Deneen

Break with Tradition

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The Church You Know

I grew up in church, maybe you did too, maybe not. Either way, once you are in a church community you start to ‘learn’ how to be a Christian. Some messages are given very directly; others, more subtly.

Here are some of the overt messages I received: Go to church twice on Sunday and on Wednesday evenings, join a Bible study group, attend Sunday School, do outreach in the community, take mission trips, have your devotional times each morning, pray every day.

Think about your own faith traditions. What has been taught to you? Daily services, prayer rituals, volunteerism . . . Do you feel the life draining away from you as you think about it? Sorry.

For me, I remember beating myself up when I didn’t meet these imposed expectations. I took them in and made them the standard for how I needed to SERVE God. I thought I just wasn’t ‘good’ at being a Christian.

Bible over Church

Paul tells us in Galatians 5:1 “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” What does freedom look like for you? For me it meant finding a way to SERVE God that aligned with my personality, aligned with what I was doing (working), and aligned with what God was asking me to do.

Many of us settle for ‘doing church’ and then wonder why we feel inauthentic and stagnate in our faith. Christian business woman, entrepreneur, working woman, YOU need to shift your mindset to see yourself as a follower of Jesus in your every moment.

Do I dare say, BREAK OUT of your traditions? Break out of the messages that are coming from your community of faith and ask God what He wants from you as you stand in the Marketplace each day.

The Bible tells us to help the poor, the orphaned, the widows and the foreigner. That is universal. But above ALL else, Jesus told us to teach others about Him. The GREAT COMMISSION (Matthew 28: 18-20) says to make disciples of those who do not know Him. Those are your poor and orphaned because they do not know God.

The Great Commission also says to start in your Jerusalem, the people you see every day. That is your workplace. You have the most contact with people who are in business with you. What can you do to show God’s goodness to them? How can you be salt and light in your business?

God is not calling you to follow a set of rules: pray before meals, go to church whenever the doors are open, volunteer in the nursery. You were meant for MORE as a Christian Business Woman. God wants you to connect your Faith & Business/Work and see the Marketplace as your primary mission field. The place where you live your Faith out loud.

Free from Church

Are you stuck in the ‘I have to’ trap of church sponsored activities? Are you afraid you won’t grow if you aren’t plugged into your church community? God is asking you to step out and be 24/7 with Him. See your church as a community of believers who are there to encourage and support what God is asking you to do through your work.

I know what you are thinking . . . “If I quit serving as a greeter, a Sunday School teacher, a nursery worker, an usher, a committee member, etc. at church someone will be upset.” It is okay. God has a specific plan for you and He wants you to cooperate with Him for your success.

I have a tool for you that I know will help you connect your Faith and Business. It is my new book, CLARIFY 12 Principles to Illuminate Your Calling to the Marketplace. You can ORDER it this Thursday 1/18/18 @ http://amzn.to/2qowPNN. It is the place to get started.

God has so much MORE for you. Be COURAGEOUS and take the next step with Him.

 

Be filled to overflowing,

Deneen

God Gets the Glory for My Work

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View of Work

Are you consumed with your work?  Have you ever been given this advice? ‘Work smarter, not harder’, ‘Delegate’, ‘Learn to say NO’ or ‘Take a spa day’.   It’s not that there is a problem with work; it is our view of work that gets us into trouble.

Martha is the woman I most relate to in the Bible.  Are you like Martha?  Workaholic, more like Multitaskaholic, looking for significance, and feeling like you are doing it all alone?  Martha is a leader, not a follower.  She is the one who makes things happen. Martha’s story is one like many of us as women: mothers, daughters, business owners, caregivers, carpoolers, party-planners, . . . you get the picture.

When we first meet her she has Jesus in her living room and she is worried about being the perfect hostess. Instead of being present and mindful in the moment she has been given and making a connection with Jesus, she is trying to earn her way into Jesus’ heart (through His stomach). By ‘doing’ things for Him, she does not realize her work is cutting her off from the one relationship she wants most.

The Bible doesn’t tell us how many times Jesus stopped at Martha’s home during His three years of ministry; I would have to imagine it was more often than we know.  How else could she feel comfortable enough with Him to stop the action in the living room and complain about her sister’s lack of help?

Martha’s overwhelm comes from trying to do it all alone.  She has the right idea bringing it to the attention of Jesus, but she doesn’t get the answer she expected. Instead she gets a wake-up call to what is real.

Each of us has many responsibilities and at times not enough hours in the day.  We also have our meltdowns, like Martha.  God never intends for you to carry everything without Him (Matthew 11:28-29). In fact, He promises rest for your soul.

Another Perspective

The last time we glimpse into Martha’s story is when her brother, Lazarus, has fallen ill and she sends for Jesus (she is keeping close tabs on him and knows where he is). Jesus arrives too late and Lazarus dies.  Again, Martha is entertaining important townspeople, working hard to serve those who have come to pay their respects.

BUT, she hears that Jesus is coming down the road and runs to meet him. She is no longer fussing over the work that must be done.  She knows ‘this is the better’ and goes to meet Jesus.

By being in relationship with Jesus she can’t help to have changed from the inside out. Her personality is still bold; she is still organizing events and running her household. But, by being touched by Jesus she has been given a new way of looking at her work.

Is there a difference between the sacred and the secular?  Martha shows us there is not.  As she leads her household she has many responsibilities.  She is never asked to give that up as she follows Christ.  Her work serves the kingdom and is God-given.  It is necessary work to fulfill God’s plan for her and to bring Him glory.  Jesus wants Martha’s heart but never tells her to separate her work-life from her faith-life.  He wants her work to have purpose and meaning.  He wants that for you too.

Your Perspective

Each day as we plan our activities we must focus on three things: Required, Return, Reward.  What is required of me today, what activities give me a return on my investment (not always financial), and what is the reward for being involved in what I am doing. Seeing the activities of your entire life, specifically your work, as a way to give God glory is the starting point.

Martha learned that her faith-life and her work-life were intertwined. That she could do her work and show God’s glory through it. He has placed you in the marketplace to do this also.

How is God changing your view of work and faith? Get on the LIST for the next Calling Clarity Course (just say, “put me on the list”) that will give you the tools to connect your faith and business. 

Be filled to overflowing,

Deneen

God designed you to work, and He called it good

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You

Do you ever wonder why you have this idea for a business in your head? Is there a dream that you have had ruminating around inside of you for a while? Do you have vision of doing something greater? It is good.

That God-given vision along with your specific set of skills, talents, gifts, and experiences brings your uniqueness into the world. No one has ever existed just like you and God has given you a purpose, a job, to do that only you can accomplish. Are you doubting yourself? Let’s look at God’s design.

Eve

In the beginning, Eve. We know Eve as the first woman. Being the first woman to exist puts Eve in a very special situation.  She was the first to do everything.  She was the first wife, the first keeper of a garden (with Adam), the first homemaker, the first mom, and the first worshipper of God (again, with Adam).  She didn’t have a mentor to learn from, she didn’t have a mother or grandmother to get advice from, and she only had her husband for friendship (and he was new to all this too).

God designed her to be an Ezer- a helper. The only other person given this designation in scripture is God (Psalms 30:10; 54:4).  Imagine being able to put that on your résumé.

As an Ezer she is also mandated to work alongside of Adam for the physical work of caring for the garden.  They are told to be fruitful and multiply as well as subdue and govern it. Both intellectual work and physical work have no distinction for God. There is no mention about which type of work is more important or more ‘godly’.  All work is necessary and Good.

Work

I love looking at my work this way.  Have you ever stopped to think about what is Good about your work?  As an Entrepreneur and Businesswoman, I know we can get tied up in our everyday routine and sometimes miss the Good in our work.  Think about it this way, God planted this seed of thought in your brain about starting your business.  His creativity worked through you, as His image bearer, to bring about the work you are doing.

God is so creative!  Imagine creating the colors, textures and fragrances that are in the world.  Each tree, flower, animal, rock formation, water source and cloud screams creativity.  We get to reflect that by being the unique person He created us to be!  Your work is all God’s plan.  What He set in motion from the foundation of the world is now His perfect plan for you and your business.

God expected Eve to work to fulfill His creation. He expects you to continue the work to produce and fulfill your unique contribution to His creation. Your work may look different in different seasons of your life but only you can fulfill the plan God has for you.

Be filled to overflowing,

Deneen

 

P.S. This is an excerpt from my upcoming BOOK (still untitled)! Twelve businesswomen from the Bible teach their valuable business principles. It also includes sections for you to then apply those principles to your business. Keep on the look-out for when pre-orders are available.

 

 

Your Experiences AFFECT the way you do Business

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Discover

The Calling Clarity Course has me going through my own checkpoints all over again. This week in the Calling Clarity Course we are talking about our Talents but I am preparing for next week, Experiences. I have been creating a chart for the women to use during the week and it has me discovering more AHAs than I imagined.

One incident I recalled from when I was four-years-old is the root of my fear of dogs (at least my distrust of them). It was my first day of school. My mother had walked me out our quarter of a mile driveway and crossed the street with me to the neighbor’s driveway. Meg was a sixth grader, I remember she was big. All of a sudden, her big black shaggy dog came barreling down the slope of her curved driveway. My mother grabbed me and Meg rushed to capture Solar.  Nothing else happened and apparently I got on the bus and went to my first day of kindergarten. I don’t remember anything else from kindergarten though.

The next memory I have from school is on my birthday in first grade. Mrs. Reed had a huge doll house where a Magic Elf lived. He would come from the woods near the school to sleep and eat each night when we were all at home. On your birthday, you were chosen to clean up the house. The bed would need to be made and the crumbs cleaned up on the table. I remember anticipating my turn. I loved walking slowly by the house every day to see what the Elf had messed up. I think that classroom cemented my love for learning. Mrs. Reed had a light blue upright piano in the room I remember her playing and we had access to the playground through a ‘secret’ back door.

Both experiences shaped a part of who I am today. The good memory is one I have incorporated into my life. Learning is one of my Values. It is also one of my Strengths (Input). AND, it is one of my Spiritual Gifts (Knowledge).

Benefit

I connect Learning to my business in a few ways.

One, I want to be seen as the ‘go-to’ person for statistics about Social Media and Marketing. Therefore, I keep up on this by listening to books on CD in the car and by reading articles.

Two, I Learn more things so I can give others more information to assist them in achieving their goals. The more I Learn, the more I can give away in the form of Workshops and Coaching. Both are different parts of my business model.

Three, by Learning, I synthesize information from many different sources and create NEW Programs and Strategies that benefit those in my Networking Group and those I Coach. This also overlaps with another Value, Creativity.

Act

The Calling Clarity Course is pushing me into NEW territory as I evaluate myself through this NEW lens I have created. It excites me to understand how interrelated all the parts are that we are exploring AND how I can show up in my business in a unique way because of it.

You are a puzzle to solve. You have many parts that make up who you are on the inside. Dissecting these parts of yourself gives Clarity to do what you are purposed to do.  It helps you find your Calling.

Funny how looking back on my six-year-old self can show me a lifetime worth of reasons why I excelled in school and love learning. What can the Calling Clarity Course do for you? Next opening will be in March 2018. Do you want to be on the list? Contact me and write, ‘Put me on the List’.

Be filled to overflowing,

Deneen

Choose Your Adventure

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Do you remember the Choose Your Own Adventure books? Those stories were exciting to read. The story was always full of suspense and the adventure intriguing. At the bottom of a certain page there would be a choice to make.  AND, those choices never seemed to be exactly what you would do. What to do next . . .

For me it was always a dilemma to make those types of choices. I wanted to choose the best adventure. Should I flip to the next page or go deeper into the book? Which would be better? Did it matter? The beauty of these books was that you could read them again and again and never have the same thing happen.

Your Christian life can be the same type of adventure. Just like those books, your choices have direct influence on how the adventure goes. Maybe you feel there are too many choices? Serving God can mean showing up for a volunteer opportunity at church. Learning about God by joining a Bible Study. Or, for more adventure, going on an overseas mission trip. What choices have you made that are making this Christian adventure exciting? Is it working for you?

God has so much more. He has created an adventure specifically for you and wants you to choose to be on the ride. The adventure is daily and runs through your entire life, not just at times when you are with ‘God’s people’ learning and serving. God’s plan includes your uniqueness shining in the world.

1 Corinthians 12:12 says that we are all part of the same body. Your function is different from everyone else’s. Your adventure is exclusive to you. AND, you get to complete the picture God has for His Church, His people, by choosing to live it.

How? By inviting God into every day.

Recently, I led a group in the study of Spiritual Gifts and how they can be applied to the workplace. Each woman in the study is a business owner and each desires to live out her own Christian life adventure. This study revealed their top Spiritual Gifts and we discussed how each was or could be applied daily through their work.

Spiritual Gifts are given when we need them. They are meant to edify the group. They can reflect natural abilities but are often surprises on the adventure. Recognizing them can be a challenge; allowing God to use them is your choice.  I wanted to see the diversity of our group and how we complemented one another.

One woman has the Faith gift. She did not know how that fit into her adventure. Faith is defined as belief that God will do things that are impossible for us apart from His intervention. She had been dealing with cancer that had reoccurred. Her attitude has always remained positive. Those in her office see her as calm, steady, and assured that everything will work out. She hadn’t seen that her Faith was sticking out all over the place as she trusted God for the results of treatment.

Another woman has the Pastoring gift. She laughed when this result came to light. At first she felt that she could not possibly have a gift she thought was reserved for Pastors. But the definition for Pastoring is caring consistently for the personal needs of others through personalized counseling and coaching. While she is not a coach, she is a listener. God has given her many opportunities to pour into other’s lives. She is a magnet for those hurting and in need of comfort.

Each has her own adventure. Within our small group we have Administration, Teaching, Connecting, and Hospitality gifts. Each woman contributes to our group in her unique way. Each gives a perspective that brings richness to our group and fulfills the needs of someone else.

You have an adventure too. Your GIFTS are for you to share. Choosing to serve God and others through your gifts brings an awareness of God to the world. You SHINE for Him.

The Christian life is an adventure. It is a daily commitment to see your world through God’s eyes. Ask Him to help you choose the right next step. God is surprising and He will sometimes give you a choice that seems different than anything you would choose. That’s when He says, “Do you trust me with your adventure?”

Your story continues. You may not be able to go back and make a different choice in the adventure, but you can move forward in your story and make choices that create the Christian adventure God has for YOU. You are right where you need to be. Ride the adventure in His strength by connecting to Him. Your choices will be easy.

 

Be filled to overflowing,

Deneen

P.S. Your Personalized Faith Plan is waiting for you. Find your uniqueness and make your adventure count for God.

 

God’s in your Business

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We have been talking about principles for your business for the last few weeks. There are many examples of business women in the Bible who can show you how to show up in your business. But today I want to turn it around and show you how God showed up for two of them in their faith and business adventure. He will do the same for you.

Huldah- Working in obscurity

Have you ever heard of Huldah? She spent her entire life in the pursuit of knowledge.  She loved learning and God rewarded her by giving her the gift of discernment.  Huldah was not famous but she was known.  During her time in Jewish history (2 Kings 22:8-20) the temple was destroyed and the Jews were worshipping other gods.  Her sphere of influence was very limited because of this disarray. Life was full of turmoil for the Jewish nation and there is no stability.

Our own world today is the same.  Everyone is doing their own thing and there is no moral authority.  We can feel like it doesn’t matter what we do or how we act; that no one is paying attention, no one is watching.  But someone is always watching. They are looking at your behavior, your reactions to situations, and how you respond to others.

Keep working, keep moving in the direction God has for you because in the right moment the doors will open and you will fulfill the exact calling He has for you. It happened to Huldah eighteen years after Josiah became king. He called on Huldah to verify a scroll found during the restoration of the temple.

Her reputation proceeded her. Someone had been watching. Huldah first authenticated the scroll.  Her years of study and experience had taught her to recognize God’s Word. She was clear in the work she was being called to do. She didn’t try to make herself look more important but worked at the job she was asked to do.

Too often we choose to do the work we want to do instead of the work that is in front of us. We must continue to build a good reputation, by doing the job given to us; only then, can we move up and be used of God in a big way.

There is no fast lane in building a reputation even when you feel no one knows. It is in the choices you make every day, the things you do that go beyond the expectations of your customers, clients, colleagues and co-workers that builds your reputation and brings you out of obscurity to what God intended for you.

Keep doing what is right and moving forward. God honors that at the right time. He did it for Huldah. She is credited as being the catalyst for revival in the Jewish nation.

The Widow in Debt- Giving all to God

Do you remember this woman and her two sons? She owed her creditors and they were about to take her sons as slaves when she reached out to her spiritual leader, Elisha.

She reached out to him either because she blamed him for her predicament or because she expected him to give her a miracle. Either way, she was in front of Elisha asking for his assistance. She was bold in her request and told it straight forward in a way this prophet respected.

His response was quick and simple. He asked, ‘How can I help and what do you have in your house?’ (2 Kings 4:2) In Hebrew, the word for widow literally means, empty house.  How ironic that Elisha asked her that question.  Her immediate response was, ‘I have nothing’. I can almost hear the irritation in her voice. Then, in the same breath, she said, ‘Well, I have a little oil’.

You might feel empty, but I bet you have a little oil.

God wants you to trust Him with the little things. He builds your faith on what you hold out to Him. You may feel you have nothing to offer, but you do. Think about those tasks that come easily to you. In your business, you shine in one area and it gives you joy. Give it to God for His use.

Elisha’s response was not to give her a hand out, it was to give her a means of helping herself. She may have been expecting him to just give her a miracle but God had another way to heal her heart. Healing for her came from acting. There was no pity from the prophet about her predicament. He gave her a plan.

There is a saying that the more you give the more you get. I think a truer saying is, the more you give God the more He can bless it. It is in our obedience to Him in the little things that we can be given larger responsibilities. God wants it all.

She gave what she had and God multiplied it. If you know the story, then you know her ‘little oil’ flowed until she had enough to pay the debt and live on the rest of her earnings. God blessed all she gave.

 

God allows each of us to go through times when we feel our business is more of a burden than a blessing. But, He gave you a vision to do it so you continue. Remember, there are many lessons along the way to success. God’s plan for you is to be more like His Son. If you never make a dime or build a following that is okay. Your success may look different than anyone else’s, but in God’s eyes you are exactly where you need to be.

Be filled to overflowing,

 

Deneen