On Building Legacies…
©Lee Wise All rights reserved

We forge legacies one step at a time.

In and out of life’s muddier moments,
During days we call “sunshine days,”
And times when the beauty of sunlight
seems more of a dream than any shred of reality.

We make choices,
Share stories,
Enjoy laughter among friends,
Know the meaning of success,
And tolerate failure the best we can.

Traversing through these many, varied
and ever-changing mini seconds of our lives…

We call out to Jesus.

We cry out for strength, wisdom, health,
mercy, and grace to make it over the long haul.

We desire to leave legacies.
Good legacies.

Legacies of love, trust,
surrender, gratitude,
and faithfulness.

Why?

Because in serving the God of all grace,
we know that in the end only two things
really matter…

Really.

Loving God
And loving the people He created.

“Our loving Father… make us strong.
Strong in time until time ends for us.
In the timeless name of Jesus we pray.
Amen.”

____________________________
© Lee Wise All rights reserved. You may freely distribute
this article. However, the copyright box in Signature One
must be used when you do so (See Signature Boxes page)

Joy

JOY
© Lee Wise All rights reserved

The sense of satisfaction I feel
as I realize the positive results
of “good decisions past”

And…

The sense of anticipation I cherish
as I look forward to even more
positive results because of “good
decisions future.”

Five Pillars Of Excellence For Personal Spiritual Growth

Five Pillars Of Excellence For Personal Spiritual Growth
© Lee Wise All rights reserved

Don’t let the brevity of these comments fool you. They are
a gold mine in terms of value in our lives.

These four disciplines — when reflected and acted upon –
will continually propel us in the direction of living a
life of excellence.

And…

As we focus on the Person of Jesus Christ as our model,
motivation and strength while striving to put these
disciplines into practice, we can’t help but grow in the
realization of what it means to be a person of excellence
for Christ.

~*~*~ How To Read The Following ~*~*~

Each main thought is followed by: (1) a definition; and (2)
a personal affirmation that can be made relative to the
definition.

Try to let each definition and personal affirmation capture
your imagination: how the basic truth of what is being said
could improve your life.

In order to help you “see” the possibility, allow the two
questions below to serve as examples of how focusing on one
of the five pillars of excellence could enhance your
personal spiritual growth.

Regarding the area of *concentration,* you create a question
like this:

“If I concentrated my efforts on improving in the area of
personal time management, what could this mean for me?”

Focusing on *personal control,* you might create a question
similar to this one:

“What if I exercised more personal control concerning what I
say to others, what positive changes might I see in my
life?”

Reading, thinking, and praying through these five pillars
more than once should prove very beneficial for you: at
least that’s the goal.

1. CONCENTRATION

Defined: concentration is the power of focus.

Related Affirmation: “I am focusing and staying focused on
the most important issues and tasks of life today.”

2. CONTROL

Defined: control is the power of self-discipline.

Related Affirmation: “I am exercising daily control over my
emotions, energies and talents for the purpose of maximum
involvement and achievement in life.”

3. COMPLETION

Defined: completion is power of follow-through.

Related Affirmation: “I am being persistent and enduring. I
am finishing things.”

4. COMPASSION

Defined: compassion is the power of caring.

Related Affirmation: “I am caring and loving. The attitude
of caring frames how I am living today.”

5. CHRIST

Meaning: Christ is the power of true life in action.

Related Affirmation: “I am looking to Christ as my example
of compassion, concentration, control and completion.

He cared for people, concentrated on what mattered,
controlled his life, and completed all he came to do.”

~*~*~ A Question For You ~*~*~

If you were to pick the most important area to work on this
week, which one of the disciplines would it be? Record it
here:

“The Personal Spiritual Growth area I choose to work on this
week is:

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

~*~*~ Remember Two Key Words ~*~*~

When creating your plan of action, please keep in mind the
following two words:

1. Believable
2. Achievable

Believable = small enough to be able to see yourself
actually doing what you desire to do.

Achievable = Step-by-step success.

Avoid steps of action only Jesus himself could do!

In other words, take into consideration: (1) your current
stage in life; (2) your current set of realities; and (3)
the level of any skill set needed to accomplish your goal.

The best to you and those you love,

Lee

A Suggested Prayer…

“Oh, Father, I come before You and ask you to bless my life
in these needed areas of discipline.

Lord, which one do You feel I should work on this week?

I ask you to guide me through the process, help me to be
realistic in what I set out to do, and then help me to look
to Jesus as the example of how to live my life at all times.

I ask this in Jesus’ Name, Amen!”

____________________________
© Lee Wise All rights reserved. You may freely distribute
this article. However, the copyright box in Signature Three
must be used when you do so (See Signature Boxes page)

On Matters Of The Heart

I trust you will enjoy this article even though it is
a bit longer than normal.

Lee

On Matters Of The Heart
© Lee Wise All rights reserved

Joining the song of many authors sharing their insights in
the fields of personal success and self development, I trust
we would sing in unison a chorus entitled…

“Matters of the Heart Matter Most.”

Another tune creatively shared and expanded upon by many
would reflect the closely related theme revolving around the
passionate plea to “follow your heart” should you seek the
true meaning of success and the experiential knowledge of a
fulfilled life.

And to this I *might* stand in agreement but *only* with the
following modification in place:

Matters of heart do matter most but only when the heart
strives to be…

Motivated by love,
Rooted in the highest values of life,
Held in check by integrity,
And kept in balance by grace
because it understands the meaning of
being forgiven as much as it does
the practice of being forgiving.

I hear of dissatisfaction in the supermarket while standing
in line, see heartache in the the lives of people because of
broken trust, and watch “in your face” reality TV pit one
person against another…

Demanding their rights,
Doing whatever it takes to obtain larger sums of money,

And proclaiming their independent strength as if the King of
Kongs suddenly found his or her way into the body, mind and
soul of the latest contestant.

I witness the fallout when people “follow their heart” to
someone other than the one they pledged to cherish should
life prove to be more downsized than upscale on the street
where together they now live.

And yet those left behind often inherit a legacy of grasping
on to what left over emotional and physical strength they
realize only to realize that the struggle to understand and
maintain a sense of inner peace and confidence will most
likely be a life-long battlefield on which they must fight
and for which they never enlisted.

A pessimist I am not, and my glass does not remain in a
continual state of being half empty instead of half full.

I listen to the pleasant sounds of birds outside my house
entertaining me with their songs of joy and encouragement,

Hear and enjoy the laughter of my grandchildren, rejoice
over and over at the joy in the eyes of my wife,

And sing way, way too loud and off key within the
closed-windows-while-the-song-blares-LOUD in my oriental
Lincoln (1995 Suzuki).

In brief, I do love and appreciate…

Life,
Many people,
The family entrusted to my care,
The neighborhood where I live,
My church where I worship,
And my country.

But my heart experiences a measure of sadness and
frustration as I witness the on-going promotion of a “follow
your heart” and “I am the greatest” set of philosophies
that…

* Flaunt false pride instead of respectful humility,
* Personal dominance over personal concern for others,
* The pleasure of self-indulgence over the pain of self-control,
* And striving to win what matters least at the expense of all
that matters most.

And what does matter most in my opinion?  You read my answer
at the beginning of this article.

My answer is: “the cultivation of a good heart.” A heart…

Motivated by love,
Rooted in the highest values of life,
Held in check by integrity,
And kept in balance by grace
because it understands the meaning of
being forgiven as much as it does
the practice of being forgiving.

This cultivation of a good heart knows little of a street
named “Without Struggle,” and even less of one bearing the
title “More Convenient Than Not.”

Many times what which holds the most value also contains the
seeds of that which demands the most effort.

And so it is with the determination to preserve, protect and
nurture a good heart.

I imagine you to be one of the many precious individuals who
places a high price tag on such an effort, and to you I
stand in applause while encouraging you to stay in the game.

And yet we both hold these truths to be self evident:

We won’t win every play on the field.
Nor will we give a sterling performance during each act of
the play.

But we remain convinced of the inherent value of taking our
best shot at maintaining and passing on to several
generations beyond our own the enduring legacy of a good
heart.

The best to you my friend: the very, very best.

Lee
___________________________
© Lee Wise All rights reserved. You may freely distribute
this article. However, the copyright box in Signature Two
must be used when you do so (See Signature Boxes page)

Good Questions For Living A Great Life (Listening To God For All He’s Worth In Psalm 40)

           Good Questions For Living A Great Life
     (Listening To God For All He’s Worth In Psalm 40)
               © Lee Wise All rights reserved

___________________
Reflecting On Verses 1-4…

Assuming that waiting patiently before the Lord is a part of
the growth process for my life as a believer, I might ask:

“Am I waiting patiently for the Lord as I should… or am I
trusting less and worrying more than necessary?”

___________________
Reflecting On Verse 5…

Realizing that seeing the wonders of God throughout the days
of my life should always be a part of my life, I might ask:

“How am I doing at seeing the things I should be seeing
while I still have time to see them?”

___________________
Reflecting On Verses 6-8…

Knowing that the desires of my heart should match the
desires of God’s heart, I might ask:

“Am I continuing to take on the life-long task of putting my
heart in the right place, at the right time, for all of
God’s right reasons?”

___________________
Reflecting On Verses 9-12,17…

Realizing that love, truth, and complete openness before the
Lord should find their way into my life on a regular basis,
I might ask:

“Am I sharing good things about the good God I know while
being open enough to share the junk I don’t want anyone to
know with the God who knows it all anyway?” 

___________________
Reflecting On Verses 13-16

Understanding that it’s okay to lay all I’m feeling before
the Lord while striving to lift him up in all areas of my
life, I might ask:

“Am I sharing my pain and frustrations with the Lord while
at the same time being careful to enjoy him whenever and
however I can… with his help?” 

____________________________
© Lee Wise All rights reserved. You may freely distribute
this article. However, the copyright box in Signature One
must be used when you do so (See Signature Boxes page)

Balanced Effort

Hi,

Wrote this recently and thought I’d publish here.

Enjoy,

Lee

~*~*~*~*~*~*
BALANCED EFFORT

Gaining what I desire
without losing what I should gain
© Lee Wise All rights reserved

~*~*~*~*~*~*

I may desire respect, but if I:

Demand way more than what I give,
Compliment less while criticizing more,
And work less when I should work more…

I lose what I should gain.

I may desire financial stability, but if I:

Trade integrity for profit,
Treating others with respect for selfishness,
And life in balance for a burned out body and spirit…

I lose what I should gain.

I may desire inner rest, but if I:

Blame more than I take responsibility,
Complain much more than I give thanks,
And replace creative beauty with negative habit patterns…

I lose what I should gain.

*** For This Day, Then…

I will life for all it’s worth
by assigning worth to how I choose to live.

To the best of my ability, I will:

Seek to be grateful whenever and wherever I can,
Give respect when respect is due,
Offer help when I can and where it’s needed,
Be responsible without being unrealistic,
And enjoy living for all it is instead of all it’s not.

I will not, however, engage in:

Senseless self criticism,
Destructive gossip,
Endless and useless comparing,
Making fools out of people for foolish gain,
Or making myself out to be a fool when clearly I am not.

In short, I will:

Strive to gain what I desire
without losing what I should gain.

___________________________
© Lee Wise All rights reserved. You may freely distribute
this article. However, the copyright box in Signature Two
must be used when you do so (See Signature Boxes page)

Grateful Confidence

While reflecting about the Lord’s goodness to me, I created the following.  I may add a few thoughts in the form of a brief “article” for my ezine.  But, we’ll see.

Grateful Confidence
© Lee Wise all rights reserved

Knowing that the Person
Who set me free in the past
will do the same today, tomorrow
and when tomorrow becomes forever.

Personal Productivity

Hi,

Just created this for my ezine and thought I would share it here. I trust you will enjoy!

Lee

~*~*~*~*~*~*
PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY
©Lee Wise All rights reserved

The acquired art of
aligning the desires of my heart
with purpose-filled actions
on a daily basis

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Reflecting on that which remains most important to me, I
would name the following as my top three heart felt values
or desires:

1._________________________________________________________

2._________________________________________________________

3._________________________________________________________

Looking at my up and coming week, I purpose to make room for
at least one of my “top three” by taking the following
actions:

1._________________________________________________________

2._________________________________________________________

3._________________________________________________________

“Short Shot” Notations…

My habits develop one decision — and one related action –
at a time.

Make time for this simple exercise and, over time, you may
discover an increased sense of personal satisfaction in the
weeks that follow.

____________________________
© Lee Wise All rights reserved. You may freely distribute
this work. However, the copyright box in Signature Two
must be used when you do so (See Signature Boxes page)

A Great Question For A Journal… On Slowing Down

Here’s a good question for a journal that has to do with slowing down.

“In the past…

What habit, practice, or action
has enabled me to live slow enough
to hear what life, or the Lord,
is saying to me?”

On Being Satisfied

On Being Satisfied…
© Lee Wise All rights reserved

I realize true satisfaction in life
by fostering a day by day trust
in a God whose wisdom and love
blows way, way past my limited
comprehension of the same.

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