Is Friday’s Work Done?It’s Friday! For some of you this means a little respite from your work-week activities. For others, it means a switch to a different kind of work. (Anybody out here have two jobs or go to school on the weekend?) For still others, it is merely another day in your ongoing “work.” (Home-Managers, Moms, Dads, Husbands, Wives, ya think?)

Recently I read the Hebrew meaning of the words in a favorite Bible verse of mine: “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love. . . establish the work of our hands.” (Ps. 90:14, 17.) I was amazed by what I learned. So I paraphrased according to the word meanings. Here’s how:

Lord, satisfy us (fill us up until we’ve had plenty) at the beginning of each day with your kindness, mercy, beauty and relief and establish (firming up & stabilizing us to stand erect, not bent over under the burden) the work (that which is within our boundaries to do, all that we manage and create–our business, deeds, as well as our art, even needlework) of our unclenched hands (the intentions we have that are within our personal power to implement.)

For this I have no other words but this: That’s amazing, Lord.

What say you?

Note: This morning I shared this message with my The Intentional Woman group members on Facebook. God’s words here give me so much “relief” and “breathing space” that I wanted to share them with you, too. Lord, please encourage each reader right now. Thank you!

Relationship Tip from the Proverbs

Have you ever tried to cut a friend’s hair with styling scissors that had dull blades? Or slice through a piece of steak with an unsharpened knife? It’s frustrating and the results are less than satisfying. Yet when you rub the dull blade against a separate piece of iron, it works better. Likewise, when you interact with a good friend, sharing honest feedback, encouraging one another’s growth, you each become wiser. How rewarding is that?

“As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend,” Proverbs 27:17 NLT

This is a snippet from my latest book, Everyday Wisdom. It’s from Barbour Publishing’s gift book series called “Spiritual Refreshment for Women.”And makes a great birthday, hostess, or “get well” gift.

What rewarding wisdom nugget have you gained from reading the Proverbs?

Life Coaches Don’t Have the Answers

A key to effective Life Coaching is this: Coaching clients (I like to call them coachees or partners) have the answers or they can find the answers. I firmly believe that people have their own answers, solutions and next steps inside them. They may not think they do. In fact, they may want someone else to tell them what to do. Often people have an internal bully that repeats lies such as “You don’t have a clue!” or “You’ll never figure this out.” or even “God is disappointed in you.”

Yet when Life Coaches ask powerful questions and help their clients discover who God created them to be and what they really want, then the clients invariably become more resourceful, effective, intentional and committed–not to mention the fact that they’re usually more satisfied when they find their own solutions.

My First Coachee

Lori* (my first coaching client 13 years ago) told me that she didn’t want to die with all her papers, talks, research, and Bible studies piled in files around her. She dreamed of teaching the Bible to women who wouldn’t otherwise hear God’s word. But she felt stuck. Every previous attempt seemed to hit a dead end.

We designed our coaching partnership based on her goals and dreams. With her permission I asked questions, we worked together and she found her own answers. Answers that were inside her, but buried deep. Still she worried that she’d appear selfish if she didn’t take care of everyone else.

Aha!

Then one day as we were coaching about her current dilemma, she had an “aha”. She had believed she needed to take the family’s elderly dog to their upcoming family reunion, but she really didn’t want that responsibility. She thought her young adult children would be mad at her if she didn’t.

While we brainstormed options, a light bulb flashed on in her head. “Hey, I could board the dog.” She did and no one got angry and she became free. From that day forward her motto was “Board the Dog!” She moved beyond her people-pleasing and fixing ways and in the process gained the time and energy to do what God gifted her to do. She started a radio program, doing 5 minute chats explaining the relevancy of God’s Word to everyday life. She touched thousands of women’s lives with the rich material she had stored in those files. Lori will not die with all those Bible Studies crumpled around her.

What’s your “board the dog” aha today?

*Name changed