Make a Difference This Week

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Good morning – it is a cold wet morning here in southwest Michigan.

Last night, I had a great experience. We had something that needed to be fixed at our house that was beyond my very limited handyman capabilities, so we asked a young man to come over and fix the problem.  It was a great time of talking with this young man as I fetched things or held things for him as he made the repair. When he was finished, I asked him about paying him and he said he wanted to trade out his work.  What he wanted in exchange was some of my time once a month to be able to ask me questions and to just talk.  I was humbled and then felt very old!

I was also impressed by this young man’s wisdom.  He realized that he could not walk through this life on his own and was seeking several men to input into his life. For years, I have done the same and have recommended the same to others.

The question I have for you, is WHO are YOU investing into right now?  What young man or woman are you influencing?  Are you seeking and building relationships with younger people to help build this next generation of leaders?

While we continually need people investing into our lives, we also need to be very intentional about investing into others as well.

Be intentional this week and make a difference in a young person’s life.

BG Read more at bgallen.com

 

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What Do You Believe?

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Good morning! The question for you this morning is what do you believe?  What do you stand for?

Do you know what it is that is truly important to you?  Have you decided on the areas in which you will not compromise?  Do you know what you stand for?  Can you articulate your personal core values?

An organization I greatly respect is the US Army.  Many of their core values I have adopted (especially as I was a part of the Army for many years!).  Read the following values and see what they spark within you.

Loyalty -Bearing true faith and allegiance is a matter of believing in and devoting yourself to something or someone.

Duty – Fulfill your obligations.

Respect – Treat people as they should be treated.

Selfless Service -Put the welfare of the nation, the Army and your subordinates before your own.

Honor – Live up to Army values.

Integrity – Do what is right, legally and morally.

Personal Courage – Face fear, danger or adversity.

A good list to contemplate.  Click here to read the full definition or explanation of the Army’s core values as I only listed a summary sentence for each above.

So, what are the things that you hold to be core to your life?  What are the things on which you will stand and not waver?

Click here to see Life Action’s core values (we call them the Cutting Edge Commitments). You will need to scroll down the page some.

Hope you have a great week. BG

BG Read more at bgallen.com

 

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More Leadership Lessons from Pastor Bobby Moore

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Pastor Bobby Moore was a man who greatly impacted others by the way he lived his life.  He was a living testimony.  He was also a highly effective leader.  A while back I shared a few of his leadership lessons – click here to read those.  Here now are a few more for you:

Being a shepherd is more important than being an administrator.

The attitude, spirit, and lifestyle I long to see in others must first be in me.

My most important ministry is in my heart and my home.

Be teachable . . . be a learner. Have a teachable spirit. Don’t be a know-it-all, and don’t let pride cause you to fall.

Some wise guidance from a man who lived them out daily.

BG Read more at bgallen.com

 

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What Would It Look Like?

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I hope you had a great time of Thanksgiving yesterday.  We had the pleasure of some guests as well yesterday.

Now begins that mad dash towards the end of the year.  There will be Christmas parties, company coming over, shopping, special Christmas programs at church and so on.  Not to mention that you still have your work to do – just less time to do it this month.  That could add up to stress.

Maybe it is time to make a decision.  What if you decided to truly make this a time of celebrating the birth of Christ?  What if you decided to simply remove just one or two activities from your calendar and to spend that time in a relaxed setting with your family?  What if instead of rushing around, you took time to meditate on what the birth of Christ means to you, your family and this world?

What would it look like if you decided to not get caught up in all the madness, but decided to take these next days to still your heart and prepare to truly celebrate Christmas?

Blessings on your weekend, BG Read more at bgallen.com

 

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Fear or Thankfulness - It's Your Choice

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Greetings on this day before Thanksgiving!  Looks like it is going to be a sunny and crisp day here in southwest Michigan.

Right now there seems to be a lot of fear going around.  The media feeds it as fear seems to sell news (or what passes for news).  Tough economic times especially seem to generate fear.  People seem to think this is the toughest time we have ever faced (each generation seems to think that!).  As one pastor friend of mine put it, people seem ready to get their toilet paper, water, peanut butter, put on their white robes and head for the hills!

There is another choice – there is the choice of thankfulness.  There is the choice of joy at what God has done in our lives and what He is going to do.  There is the choice of courage.  Christ has promised that even the gates of Hell will not prevail against the church.  There is the choice of trusting in God and forging ahead with great energy and faith.

It seems that the concept of American exceptionalism is not very popular – in fact the opposite view seems to be in vogue. However, even a cursory view of history shows that this country is qualitatively different from others in history.  That exceptionalism has been earned by people of great faith, who have worked hard, have not given up in the face of adversity, and who do not cower in fear.

Fear and thankfulness don’t live together.  So, cultivate a spirit of thankfulness and banish fear from your life. I hope that as you celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, you stop and reflect on what the Lord has done for you and for this country.

Gratefully serving Him and thankful that I am a citizen of the                            United States of America, BG Read more at bgallen.com

 

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Healthy Rhythms in Life

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Good morning. Do you ever get frustrated when you know there are important relationships that you should be caring for, but just don’t seem to have the time?  You mean to, but it just doesn’t fit in? The problem with this is summed up in a saying I heard a while back, “We judge others by their actions, but we judge ourselves by our intentions.” So while you are thinking that you have the intention of caring for the relationship, the other person is only seeing your actions.

The key is to establish regular rhythms in your life of caring for key relationships.  It is hard at first and you will sacrifice some things, but the payoff is outstanding.  We have set down some things that work for us and are key to keeping our relationships strong.

First, Angela, my wife, and I have a breakfast date every Saturday morning in a neat little cafe in South Bend.  We spend time just talking about the previous week and talking about the future or whatever.  The key is it is OUR time. I give up Saturday morning for projects, recreation and etc., but it is well worth that small sacrifice.

Both of our daughters are still at home, so we almost always have a family date each week.  We all enjoy reading and coffee so we go to the local Barnes & Noble book store, read books, drink coffee, talk and laugh.  It is surprising how important that is to our girls. It also costs to do this, but we see this as a small investment into the strengthening of          our family.

These are just two examples of intentional actions that have become life rhythms that undergird our family relationships.  So, look at how you may strengthen your key relationships through establishing regular rhythms in the flow of your life. The change won’t be easy at first but, you will be blessed by the results.

BG Read more at bgallen.com

 

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Thriving – An Attitude

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Good morning this Thanksgiving Week!

How to actually thrive and flourish in our lives is important.  So many times we are just making it through the day.  There are things we can do to begin to flourish in our lives as we have discussed in earlier blog posts.  One key thing is our attitude.

Most people I have encountered that are doing well in regards to thriving in their lives all seem to have a deep sense of gratitude about them.  They lead a life of gratefulness.  They just look at things a little differently.  While I may grumble about having to have my car fixed, they are profoundly grateful they have a car and realize that things break!  While I may complain about my utility bills they are grateful for a warm home while so many are so cold. While I may complain about the challenges in my life, they greet them with anticipation as they see in the challenges an invitation from God to draw near to Him.

How we approach life is a choice.  Too thrive that choice needs to be a spirit of gratefulness.  A spirit of thanksgiving in all things.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 – 18

Blessings on you during this special week. BG  Read more at bgallen.com

 

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An Important Relationship

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I am sitting here in one of my favorite small town cafes.  It is one of those places where the staff knows your name, they give you too much food and your coffe cup is never empty.  I come here often for planning and meeting with people.  Right now I am waiting on a good friend that has a special role in my life.

Earlier this week I talked about how important deep relationships are to thriving in life.  One of the important relationships is the person (other than your spouse) that you let into your life that cares enough about you to ask you the hard questions and then ask you what you are going to do about the areas in which you need to grow.

When you do’t have someone you let into your life, we tend to allow behaviors, thought patterns, and etc. to develop and to weigh us down in this race we call life. We all need someone we open up to and then are accountable to as we walk through life.

If you don’t have someone like that in your life – find them.  It will be uncomfortable at first, but worth it.

Have a great weekend – BG Read more at bgallen.com

 

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One Key to Thriving

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Are you thriving in your leadership role?  In your life?

There are several things that are necessary for you to do so.  These past few days I have been reminded of one of the key ways to ensure that we thrive – deep relationships.

This past week I have been back in my hometown area for some meetings and have had the chance to visit again with some of our dear friends.  I am somewhat of an introvert so I don’t have a huge number of relationships, but the ones I do have are deep.  This time with those dear friends of many years has been life giving to me. It has brought alive what I have read in many, many books on spiritual growth and leadership and that is the necessity for deep relationships to thrive as we are not meant to live this Christian life in isolation.

Treasure and nurture your friendships – they are key to your growth as a Christian and as a leader. Be intentional this week and reconnect with one of your treasured friends – you will be blessed.

BG Read more at bgallen.com

 

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Some Leadership Team Expectations

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Some Leadership Team Expectations

Some things to look for from the members of your leadership teams:

The Right Attitude

- Can do – will do - Choose the positive perspective - Humility – a learner’s heart – open to correction

Fully represent your area & fully represent the organization

A culture of execution & accountability

Collaboration - Highly assertive while being Highly cooperative

Avoid the “Silent Lie”

Be prepared

Continuously work to improve the effectiveness of the team

Pray

So what do you expect from your leadership teams? Read more at bgallen.com

 

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Go Play Golf

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When I was a young second lieutenant (2LT) in the Army I worked with a great First Sergeant (1SG) who was close to retirement and a wise man.  He believed in helping young officers grow and excel. He was always pushing you to be thinking like you were operating at the next level of command.

He once told me that if I did my job right (as a company commander) I could go play golf and nobody would notice I was gone.  His point was that you ensure you have the right people, that they are in the right place, that they are trained, resourced, empowered and have a clear understanding of the mission and their parameters. Once you do that your team will advance.

So – are you doing that for your team?  Are you growing leaders and giving them the freedom to lead?

BG Read more at bgallen.com

 

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How Not to be a Fool

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“You can learn something from anyone, even a fool, even if the only thing you learn is how not to be a fool.” – Louis L’Amour.  Now I am not sure if that quote is exact, but it is how I remember it. Growing up, the western and historical novels by Mr. L’Amour taught me much about our country and its people, about courage and sacrifice, plus much more. Some of his quotes have really stuck with me such as the one above, especially the ones having to do with leadership.

A key question for you – Are you teachable?  We all know about the dizzying rate of change that is just a fact of life now. We know that as leaders we are to be learners, but that is more difficult than it first appears.

Sometimes things are moving so fast, that if an area of our life / work seems to be ok, we don’t want to make any changes.  Sometimes we don’t have time (at least we think this) to stop and learn something new.  And there are people that in our minds we believe don’t have anything to teach us.  This last situation is usually rooted in pride for often the very people we need to be listening to are in the most obscure “boxes” low down on the org. chart. Often times these are the people closest to a situation and are the very ones who have the best input, but we don’t listen to them to our detriment.

So, be teachable.  Be willing to seek out the advice and counsel of people, no matter what their title or position.  To not do so limits us as leaders.

Learn something new today from someone you normally don’t ask advice of – you might be surprised by what you learn.

BG Read more at bgallen.com

 

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How Good Are Your Leadership Skills?

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A leader is, or should be, constantly evaluating themselves and seeking to grow and improve.  Fortunately there are tools out there to help us in our regular assessments.

MindTools has a good quick assessment tool (free) that should be of benefit to you.  Click here to go to the assessment page.

The key is after you take the assessment – what are you going to do with the information?  What you do with what you learn about yourself (not just this assessment, but in any situation) is key to whether you will continue to grow or if you stagnate.

Enjoy your day today! BG

BG Read more at bgallen.com

 

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Leadership Lessons from Pastor Bobby Moore

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Pastor Booby Moore and his precious wife are now with our Lord.  Pastor Booby was one of those gracious men whose walk with Jesus was so intimate that when you met him, you just felt the presence of Christ.  He was a wise man who finished well – one of those men whose faith was growing ever more vibrant the closer he got to going home.

Pastor Bobby spoke at Life Action one time about Leadership Lessons Learned Along the Way.  Following are a few of these lessons:

My personal devotional life is foundational to and more important than my public ministry.

Faithfulness is more important than success. God is more interested in faithfulness than accomplishments. A person’s work is successful if the test of time and the Judgment Seat of Christ reveals it to be a work of faith . . . a work of the Spirit . . . a labor of love . . . and a work done for the glory of God

Don’t let discouragement enslave you.  Encourage yourself in the Lord and encourage others.

Some good lessons and advice.

Go encourage someone in the Lord today.

BG Read more at bgallen.com

 

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