Tuesday, October 28, 2003
TUESDAY BRIEFING
10-28-03
This update is longer than normal, yet this has been an overflowing week.
ALL glory to God in Jesus Name!
May you choose your friends wisely.
May your friends hang in there with you.
May you hang in there with your friends.
Amen?
COMPLETED
1. Thank God for good friends. As I have been open with my struggles my friends have not abandoned me.
2. Today I received an anonymous gift of $20 cash in campus mail. It was a blessing and encouragement.
3. Thanks to MANY prayers. The mental and emotional battles with lust have been occurring less often.
4. A few men have thanked me for being so open about my struggles. It helped to break the silence for all males. The enemy uses isolation.
5. Major breakthrough yesterday in the design of the web site. After MANY hours it was not coming together. Then after several sessions of prayer God gave a totally different approach that is more in tune with my heart.
6. Joined 24 Hour Fitness club last week at the cheapest level. My purposes are to combat depression, improve the quality of my output and general fitness. I live a sedentary lifestyle and sometimes the pent up energy just wants to be used. My body enjoys the machines like the treadmill and Stair Master. My goal is to work out three times a week. May God guide me in each workout and keep me safe from hurting myself on the exercise equipment like the Nautilus.
7. Thank God there have been no more pains in my right wrist or elbow. The cordless trackball allows me to put the device in my lap, at a handy angle or anywhere else that minimizes the strain on those old injuries to my wrist and elbow.
CURRENT
A. While journaling I recognized that I am rich in these ways – relationally, spiritually and intellectually. These are blessings from my heavenly Father. The banker cannot put a monetary number to these assets and the IRS cannot tax them.
B. I MUST continue to FOCUS on using each day wisely.
C. I am getting ready to face my greatest fears – the fears of rejection, success and failure.
D. God reminded me what many had taught at the fund raising seminars. Those who write the largest checks want to see the Big Picture. They want to know that their thousands of dollars in donations will be leveraged over the next few years. Their contributions will build something that will continue to grow. I am quickly adjusting to that different mindset.
E. The Big Idea is to create an educational nonprofit that is centered on the web and has other activities. The name is Our Stewardship University. The mission is to facilitate the consistent improvement of the stewardship of Time, Talent and Treasures (things and money). The school serves as an information clearing house, networking hub and educational nucleus.
F. Ears to Hear is still a vital part of the overall vision. Publishing audio messages over the web is just the first phase of the five-year plan.
UPCOMING
i. Going back to the FOCUS before getting involved with Art. I will invest at least 15 hours a week to create a 15-minute Power Point presentation, 15 page business plan and share this face to face with 15 people. That will give me feedback, momentum and funds.
ii. The old fund raising goal that still works today is forty thousand dollars. That may seem like much but it is what is needed to have a strong start. 10K for business planning consultants and other experts like curriculum design, 10K for web design and rental, 10K for computer hardware and software and 10K for initial salaries.
iii. There are hundreds of pages of notes, outlines and Power Point slides to be summarized and simplified. Bite size units will be on the initial web site. And best way to cast the vision while asking for prayer and funds is to make a video.
iv. What I am most frightened about is going out and meeting face to face with a prospective donor. That is necessary. I have been avoiding that for too many years. Pray for victory here. When I leave them I MUST point back to a web site that is an example of the audio messages.
v. In order for major donors to trust me with large contributions then I need to have a system of financial accountably that keeps track of every penny. Also they want to see a reputable group of Trustees. May God guide and provide both of these.
vi. I am in the church-shopping mode. If you know of a church in the Dallas Fort Worth area that is committed to missions then let me know.
vii. There are two sessions scheduled with Christian counselors to address the lust and pornography issues. The dates are 10/31 and 11/11. These are with two different men. May the will of God be done.
viii. Two weeks ago I was the eye witness to an auto collision. Someone ran a red light and clobbered the driver’s door. Fortunately the BMW had side air bag and other safety features. The driver walked away with a few bruises. He could have easily been killed. I gave my name and phone number to the driver as a witness. This reminds me that life is fragile. Someone could run any red light at any time. Kindly pray for my safety and that of the vehicle at intersections and on the highway. The ways people speed and quickly change lanes on the freeway amazes me that there are not more wrecks.
IMAGES
The vision for ministry that I will share with you and others is HUGE and COMPLEX. I cannot make it tiny and super simple. What is about to come forth has been developing in my heart and mind from 1979. During that year and the year before I often prayed with the director of missions dozens of times for God to reveal His perfect will for me.
The image is that which has been growing in me is about to come forth like a woman giving birth. It fact back when I was praying with the missions director the Holy Spirit often took me to John 16:21,22 as an encouragement. After the birth the agony will be forgotten due to the joy.
RESOURCES
WOW here is a wonderful use of technology for children Bob the Builder www.bobthebuilder.org
Here are more sites like Bob the Builder. Just click on the character then the link to their site. For younger children this is wonderful http://www.hitentertainment.com/html/classicChar/classic.asp
For children of all ages, see the online catalog of dramatized stories www.yourstoryhour.org
Christmas is coming so here are gift ideas www.harryanddavid.com and www.heifer.org
Biblical teaching about a reply to pornography http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/questions/answer/struggle/pornography
John 10:56 PM
Monday, October 27, 2003
Tuesday Briefing
Special edition
QUICK UPDATE
10-27-03
By the grace of God the temptations to return to the pornography web sites has almost gone away. The visual images have decreased. But the mental and emotional battles have been rough. These are based on the memories of the visits to the dark side of the web two weeks ago. Apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit, Word hidden in my heart and prayer support I would be frequently defeated.
These are times of maximum stress. I have never been this stretched financially. When I pray earnestly I have peace that God will make a way.
There have been a few but bad episodes of depression. I have stared at the walls unable to move and barely able to pray. This occurs when the flame of hope in my heart goes out. Apart from the grace and goodness of God I cannot function. Even my will to live is a gift from God Himself.
Designing the initial web site for Ears to Hear has become much more complicated than I expected. The guidelines for creating a web site suggest that you carefully consider your purpose, audience and goals. The most important part of the design process is the site map that is reflected in the navigational buttons. You must consider who is coming to the site, what to they need and want to get from the experience. Plus this intersects with what do you as the webmaster need and want to get from the visitors. What you and others will see is a reflection of my best thinking.
A complication is that I have learned from previous painful experience with Homestead that it is easy to use their wizard to start a site, but hard to make adjustments later.
The WHY questions about design lead to the HOW and WHAT questions related to the actual elements of the site.. May God grant me wisdom and insight into these matters.
This brings me back to my central challenge of FOCUS. It is easier to say Keep It Simple than it is to do that. Sometimes God gives little insights or slices of how to best design the site. I have put these into notes and outlines. At this time I need to gather all those scraps and cobble together an okay design. My weakness about perfectionism is out the window. The financial pressures do not even let me entertain how much I would like to get it exactly right before opening it to the public.
During these next few days I need anointed times of concentration and focus. Distractions and interruptions need to be minimal. This is a HUGE step. The enemy knows it and the opposition has been fierce and subtle.
May God guide and strengthen my prayer life from moment to moment. Amen.
John 9:13 AM
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