Tag Archives: smile

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Work Week Devotion 03.05.2017

Colossians 4:5-6

Colossians 4:5-6 (NLT): Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.

Your attitude about your job is often the window outsiders look through to see your heart and the truth about your faith.” Jamie Allen, Central Christian Church Mt. Vernon, IL from “Clock In #2” 09/11/2016

We all have bad days at work. Most of us work alongside people at varying stages of their faith. Believe it or not, these two things make a great combination. Your attitude during a rough time can be one of your greatest witnesses. Even the most cynical person is attracted to someone who is gracious and even-tempered when they could be upset and hot-headed.

Have to stay late to see a patient? Give that patient the best care you can and do it with a smile!
Boss putting unreasonable demands on you? Do your best work and try to give extra.
Have to buy your own classroom supplies because the budget stinks? Be grateful you have everything you need and more.

Life isn’t fair. Your attitude despite that can be the window to your faith.

Gracious Father, thank you for always meeting our needs. Help us to always represent You by having a good attitude. Please forgive us when we are self-centered and selfish. Amen.

To watch Jamie’s “Clock In” series in its entirety please go to www.thenewcentral.com

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Work Week Devotion 02.26.2017

I Timothy 4:12b

I Timothy 4:12b (NLT): Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith and your purity.

Everyone is watching. An unbelieving world is watching. Other believers are watching. Some are watching for guidance and inspiration. Sadly, some are watching to catch you in a weak moment. We can’t separate the worldly and the spiritual, work and church, recreation and responsibility.

We are to reflect Christ in all aspects of our lives: the way we do business, the way we treat our families, how we act on vacation, our thoughts when we’re alone. We won’t ever be pure and perfect but we should always remember that we are to be an example to all believers and hopefully to non-believers. After all, everyone is watching.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the patience and grace you extend to us. Please forgive us when we do not reflect Christ as we should. Help us to be an example of light to fellow believers and to an unbelieving world. Amen.

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Work Week Devotion – Valentine’s Day 2017

Song of Solomon 8:7

Song of Solomon 8:7 (NLT):
Many waters cannot quench love, nor can rivers drown it.
If a man tried to buy love with all his wealth,
his offer would be utterly scorned.

It’s customary and enjoyable to show love by exchanging gifts on Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, birthdays, etc. Sometimes gifts are lavish and sometimes they are simple. It’s not the gift that makes the love – it’s the love that gives gifts their meaning. If love is there, lack of wealth cannot destroy it. If there is no love, all the money in the world is meaningless.

“Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” By now, this phrase has become cliche, but there is so much truth there. We all want success and security and nice things and to provide for those we love but it’s the people that matter. Friendships matter. Relationships matter. Marriages and parenting and mentoring matter. Love is an action. Build love that waters can’t quench. Don’t get to the end of your life and find you are utterly scorned despite your “success.”

Loving Father, thank you for the gift of love and showing us what real love is. Help us to love like you. Please forgive us when we seek wealth before relationships. Amen.

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Work Week Devotion 01.22.2017

Matthew 5:43-45a

Matthew 5:43-45a (NLT): “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.

Many of us would be hard – pressed to say we have “enemies,” but, deep down, most of us have what we might consider “Competition.” Maybe it’s the teacher who always has the most perfect bulletin boards or the other dad who’s better at sports or hunting than you. Maybe a new business has opened and they offer the same services as you – at a lower price.

Whether you’re an employee, parent, business owner or running for public office, most of us can catch ourselves seeing someone else as the competition. You can’t always control the thoughts that pop into your head but you can control what you do with those thoughts. I challenge you to take those thoughts captive and pray blessings over those you might secretly like to see fail. You might be praying through clenched teeth at first but that’s so much better than keeping a clenched fist!

Patient Father, thank you for creating us uniquely and giving us each a special place in this world. Please forgive us when we compare ourselves to others. Help us to keep our thoughts captive and pray blessings over others rather than secretly hoping to see failure. Amen.

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Work Week Devotion 11.06.2016

Election Week Edition

Daniel 2:20-21 (NLT): …Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power.
He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings.
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars.

You should always vote when you have the opportunity. It is a great privilege and responsibility. We should pray before we vote, pray for who we vote for and, perhaps most importantly, pray for whomever is elected. After every election there are some very disappointed people. Social media makes it easier than ever to share that disappointment in some very toxic ways. This week I would like to remind you of some of the things that should NOT change, no matter who is elected to what position.

– How you treat your family. You are not a three year old child. Your personal feelings should never dictate how you treat your children, your spouse and others in your household. No elected leader has the power to change that. Don’t act as if they do.
– How you treat your clients/customers/patients/students. Policy changes can make many things more difficult. Being kind and giving good service costs zero dollars. Smile. Be patient and helpful. Make their day better in whatever way you can.
– Your work ethic. Sometimes life is unfair. That’s too bad. Do the best you can, to do that best job you can, no matter what. It honors your good name and more importantly it honors God.
– How you treat those with whom you work. If you are in a workplace of any size, there will be someone who doesn’t share your beliefs or opinions. You can remain steadfast in those beliefs and not compromise without being a jerk. Even if the other person is being a jerk. Take the high road even if you get a nosebleed. It’s a lot easier for God to use you when you don’t have your foot in your mouth.
– How you represent yourself on social media. Anything you post should have the aroma of Jesus, not the stench of the world. Hatred, sarcasm, bitterness and selfishness all stink. It doesn’t matter if what you are posting is based on truth; if it is mean-spirited or unnecessarily negative you are not advancing the Kingdom.

All Knowing Father, Thank you for giving us the freedoms and blessings that we have. Forgive us when we misuse them and misrepresent You. We pray for you to raise up Godly leaders for our communities and our nations. We humbly ask that you show us how to be more like Jesus in all areas of our lives, no matter the circumstances. Amen.

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Just Keep Scrolling

Avoiding negativity in a saturated life

I’ve heard that Facebook makes you hate people you thought you liked and Pinterest makes you love people you’ve never met. Unfortunately, I think there is a lot of truth to that. I love social media (obviously) but with it comes the opportunity to be offended, self-righteous, paranoid and just plain negative right at your finger tips, any time, day or night.

While there is a lot of evil in the world, I truly believe there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:8-10.) I believe the difference is what my good friend Kari said “In our society everything is a BIG DEAL!” Nothing goes unanalyzed. Nothing is a minor annoyance. We are bombarded by, expected to have an opinion on and debate so many things. Many of which we have absolutely no control over. It can cause lack of sleep, damage to relationships and loss of joy. I really like what Scott Alexander says in Rhinoceros Success (Lampo Press 1980):

Do not ignore the negative but don’t saturate yourself with it, either. We become the product of three things: the people we associate with, the books we read and the media we listen to.

Care deeply. Influence the part of your world that you can. Educate yourself. Vote. Make a difference. Don’t be drawn into negativity and don’t become bitter. If you are a Christian, your theology may be sound and your values may be correct but you can destroy your witness and damage the church through negative media banter. Don’t kid yourself that you are simply expressing some righteous indignation. You probably aren’t. You are quite possibly being a jerk.

Resisting social media negativity looks different for different people. Maybe you have to limit time spent on your devices. Maybe you have to unfollow some people who are always pushing your buttons. Maybe you have to sit on your hands. Maybe you have to just keep swimming scrolling. Maybe, just maybe, you need to have a real, face-to-face conversation about something really important. Identify what is most likely to put you in a place of negativity and have a strategy to avoid those things. Have a plan to stay positive. Here’s a good plan:

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. – Philippians 4:8

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The Power of a Smile

I love to smile! I am a generally happy person and as Buddy says in the movie Elf  “I just like to smile! Smiling’s my favorite.” Although I smile a lot, I hate my smile in pictures about 90% of the time. When I scrutinize a photo of myself I see: the cleft in my chin, a narrow mouth (especially compared to my huge face,) lips that thin out when I smile and buck teeth with a chipmunk-esque overbite. I want my smile in pictures to portray how I feel when I smile but it seldom does and that’s frustrating.

Fortunately, my smile doesn’t have to look good in pictures to make a difference in someone’s life. A smile is the same in any language, country or culture. While on a mission trip in the Brazilian Amazon, a Brazilian pastor shared (through a translator) that he had been praying for me and God gave him a message for me. He said my smile had great healing powers. God was using it and wanted to encourage me to keep using it because it was “very, very powerful.” What an incredible and humbling experience! It’s not often one gets a message like that, yet I still sit here able to tell you exactly what I DON’T like about this smile that God gave me to use.

Your smile is your welcome to everyone you meet. It can put people at ease, make communication easier, break down emotional barriers and say things when words aren’t even possible. Your smile can also change how you feel. It’s hard to have a smile on your face and be grouchy. I am a big believer in “fake it ’til you make it” when it’s appropriate. Sometimes you have to smile first and feel smiley second. It might be a forced smile at first, it might not feel natural, you might even be grumbling under your breath, but I’d be willing to bet that the longer you keep that smile on your face the more relaxed and real it will become.

Mother Teresa said “Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” Who can you heal with a smile this week? Maybe YOU are the one who will benefit most. I dare you to smile every single morning and every single afternoon. Smile when you talk on the phone. Smile at your kid or your spouse that you’re frustrated with. Smile at someone who obviously needs it. Smile at your boss. Smile at your server or the person behind you in the grocery store line. Make it a point to smile a little more and let me know how it impacts your week!