Growing those ideas

Have you ever had an idea, thought it was a great idea but never did anything with it? Then a few months later you see someone else has taken that idea and turned it into a successful fruitful venture? They obviously considered the idea, enough to make a go of it and followed through on it.  I have even had the audacity to say “Hay! That’s my idea.” That’s as silly as saying to someone with a fish on their hook “Hay! That’s my fish it was under my boat!”
God gives us amazing ideas, they are life giving and full of His notions on what is best. However, if we never plant or even consider them, like an unplanted seed will dry up and decay.  For an idea to bring fruit it has to be planted.
Receive it. 
An idea must be planted or better yet received.  How do you receive from God? First off, thank Him and then respond to it.  I personally respond to ideas by writing them down.  I feel they are treasures from heaven and are so valuable I don’t want to forget them so I write them down. 
Test the idea.  
I pray over them.  I prove them or test them by asking questions.  Is the idea Biblical? Will if fill a human need, solve a problem and help others? One of the ways I discern God ideas from good ideas is this - God ideas are giving ideas.  Be careful sometimes we rule out an idea from God because it makes us uncomfortable. Quite honestly every God idea I have had demands trust in Him and risk with me. Don’t use the excuse “I don’t have peace.” because the idea makes you uncomfortable. 
Commit.  
Once you have a giving idea commit yourself to put that idea into action. Invest your time, money and energy into to seeing it develop. This is where you need to be ruthlessly intentional with your time.  This is where the timing of the idea will become an issue.  Stay in His timing, be prepared for Him to put things in place.  Just because it’s not the right time doesn’t make it a bad idea. 
Prepare for blocking. 
Know that problems and troubles will come to try to stop you from completing the project. Trials always come before the final victory. God will allow you to be tested and proved.  When you are in this development phase of the idea, you have to choose whether you will persist with your idea/vision or give up. Don’t quit! Believe in the idea God has given you. Hang in there and you will eventually creatively and effectively move on to seeing the fullfillment.
 Remember you have prayed for the idea, prayed over the idea, you have tested the idea. You have spent some time talking this idea out with God, trusting Him to protect you from making dumb decisions. If this wasn’t His idea He would have tried to stop you before now.  

God doesn't have attention deficit disorder. He doesn't change His mind as much as we do. Sometimes when we face a block we are tempted to think God has changed His mind on the whole endeavor.   Remember to Him, finishing is better than starting. 

Experience fullfillment.  
Q4U: What do you do when you see the vision come to bear fruit?

How do you turn the idea facuet on?

One small idea can change your life. One simple idea have turned many from material poverty to material prosperity almost overnight.  An idea from God can bring you out of fear and despair into courage, confidence, faith, and victory in the twinkling of an eye.  

We are told to ask God for wisdom, and we are comforted with His promise of give it to us whenever we ask freely, no strings attached.  I have faced many difficult situations, entangled in what seemed impossible circumstances and  I have cried out for wisdom.

Now seriously, I wasn’t looking or waiting for an idea to pop into my head, I was really crying out for God to just make it all better.  And well, to my misfortune I missed the answer to my problem. 
When we ask for wisdom we are asking for God’s ideas.  His ways and thoughts are way higher than ours.  He delights in supplying us with ideas that will turn situations around. 
Want to turn the idea faucet on?
God has the inside scoop on  how everything in the universe works.  We some how need to get our hands on what He thinks.

Faith in our God coupled with consistent action will release the resources we need. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him(action),and believe He is always good(faith). 
Here are five simple actions that will level you up in faith and turn the idea faucet on.
1- Meditate on His word.  You would be surprised how many Christians I meet that don’t read His Word everyday.  I am equally surprised at how many leaders I have met that haven’t read the entire bible at least once.  When you meditate on His word it will help you discern God idea’s from good ideas.
2- Practice His Word.  This means you believe and obey what you read in the Bible. His will is your will. How can we ask God for advice and ideas if we aren’t willing to carry them out?  Start by obeying the Word you do know.  Be faithful to the Scriptures you do know.
3- Speak and vocalize His promises.  There is power in the tongue, life and death power.  Get vocal about God’s promises. Start speaking out about His faithfulness to supply all your needs. He is a God who speaks to His people.  I find when I start talking it out with the people close to me, the ones that really know me, the solution comes in that conversation. Ideas begin to form and take shape.  
4- Pray.  I know that sounds so obvious.  I don’t know how many times I was asked “Did you think to pray?” and the honest answer was no.  Praying is more than just petitioning God for the answer, it is praise and worship.  Praise Him until the worship comes then worship till the Glory comes.  In His Glory realm all things are possible.
5- Give.  Yep give, and give some more.  It is a privileged life to give.  We don’t give to get we get to give.  Live generously with others.  Live to give. You become an open cannister for God to fill up when you pour out. 

From experience I have realized that it was the small ideas  dropped into my spirit that produced the most benefits.  Don't limit God by only looking for the big ideas. Remember the mustard seed, it's tiny, it's pungent (whew put one in your mouth) and it produces a big bush. 

Q4U: How do you discern between a God idea and a good idea?

Change in the Air

There is change in the air.  Yep the seasons are changing. I know in Florida that means the tempature drops a couple degrees but hay anything below 90 is cooler.

Facebook rocked a lot of worlds a couple weeks ago.  People woke up doing their normal routine and wham! Facebook the arch nemisis to the superhero "Mr. Routine" struck a nasty blow.  They changed once again all the things we thought would never change.  Change is inevitable.  I like change, I like to be warned first though.

Netflix did a big change and it cost them big.  So the CEO did this big apology about their change in billing policies.  The apology wasn't that prices changed but because they didn't explain the change.

Well I like to learn from other people's mistakes.

The Blog is changing
Matthew 10 (Message version) has been the Word I have been standing on the past few months.


It says things like "start small" and not needing a great big fund raising campaign to start.  I took that word literally.  And true to form God does what He does when we put our efforts into His hand.  He added a whole bunch of grace to it.  When this happens ministry grows, we need to grow with it. 

Here are the changes
Switching Blogging Sites


I am going from Blogger (blogspot) to Wordpress.
sandivand.wordpress.com

I like Blogger, it is simple and easy to figure out.  It is for blogging and that's it.  I definitely recommend it to the non-geek writers.  If your considering starting a blog this is a great place to start.

Wordpress is also a great blogging site.  It has a little bit more when it comes to sites and design.  It has the ability to grow with you. "Sisterhood" has grown.  So I must grow with it.

Mobile Device Ready
Wordpress looks great on the mobil devices, particularly the iPad.  It has a magazine feel which is the direction we are going in.

We are going for an online magazine, so we are also taking submissions as well. You will hear more about having an online magazine presence in the near future.  Send your articles in, this is a place for you to discover  your voice.

Better Comment Capabilities 
I believe blogging is great for stirring up conversations.  Blogger's comment section was not the optimal place for that. Wordpress just fits perfectly for us in the comment section. It's easy to comment and easy to follow. When I read blogs I get more out of the comments than I do the actual post.  Your comments are important to me.  So I had to go to a site that shared my value on this.

Daughters by Design
There will also be a corner for Daughters By Design, teen girls between 14 and 18.  Articles written just for them.  I am really excited about this, because quite frankly ladies mentoring is what we are suppose to be doing.  The ultimate goal is to get a Daughters by Design forumn for the girls to access some wisdom anytime of the day or night(they are up all hours of the night).  It will also be a place we can hear from them too. A place they can write the articles.  If you are working with that age group girl HAY don't hesitate submit an article.

Subscriber Forms
The Wordpress site will have two  distintly different ways to subscribe.

1)A subscription will send to your email address each article as it is posted.  This is how I read all the blogs I read. Instead of clicking on link after link, checking for new articles, the automatically come straight to my email, very convientent for me.

2) The other type of subscription is for ministry updates.  You know a heads up on what's going on in Women's Ministry. This is a newsletter sent periodically to inform you of up coming events, live simulcasts, leadership trainings and just an encouragement.

So here is the link to the new place.
sandivand.wordpress.com

For the next few weeks I will be posting articles on both Blogger and Wordpress. I hope that will give you time to go to Wordpress and sign up as a subscriber.   Eventually there will be no more post to Blogger, so don't procrastinate go over to the new site, bookmark it and let me know what you think.

Thank you for your patience as we work out the bugs in the new Wordpress site and in this transition.

love
Sandy

Imparting Influence in Others

If you get to thinking you’re a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else’s dog around.

Leadership is about influence.
Here are some thoughts on cultivating influence.  
You will teach what you know but you will impart who you are. It doesn’t matter if you have an official position in the church or not.  The moment you made the “I am a believer” proclamation the whole world started watching you. Be a person of character. What happens is you will cultivate other people of heart and courage. 
Take risks on people and give opportunities to fail or succeed.  If someone comes to you with a dream, an idea or “I was thinking...” do your best to help them attain it. These are the investments that produce big rewards.  
Be a fire starter not a fire fighter. Don’t be known for popping people’s bubble. 
Recognize and reward effort.  The key word here is effort.  Find ways to recognize people’s effort every chance you get.  Don’t be afraid to single people out for their hard work
Be open about your weaknesses and own up to your mistakes.  I'm leery of people that have never apologized. Everyone makes mistakes, but to never admit them makes me uncomfortable.  Admitting mistakes and weaknesses are freeing, there is no role you have to play up to. 
Be approachable. When someone on your team calls or emails you, this is a priority for you. Try to get back to them within in reason. 
Help people achieve personal success. Learn your team members goals and help them achieve it. 
I’m not perfect in these areas. Right off the bat, I can say I need to improve on all of these tips. Most of what I learned in leadership was out of all the mistakes I made.  
Take the time to see how your doing, ask those around you. This takes a lot of courage but it is well worth it. 
Q4U: What other ways to gain influence with your team?