From time to time I repost articles or posts from other bloggers. Today I have the priviledge of sharing this post from my dear friend Pastor Deanna Shrodes from Lifetime Intimate Portrait.
Enjoy as you read and learn:
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Most people will tell you to listen for the voice of God, spend time praying, fasting and reading your Bible. That's definitely top priority, but here are some other things you can do to prepare.
1) Set your cell phone alarm to go off at all times of the day and night and interrupt you. When it starts beeping, don't just turn it off. Stop what you are doing for at least an hour, and do something totally different that you didn't plan on at all. Come back later to the project you were working on before. Finish it even if you have to stay up until 2 am.
2) If you are just starting out, make sure to stock up on ramen noodles, easy mac, and peanut butter and jelly.
3) Ask a few people to follow you around all the time, and find out what you're doing, who you're doing it with, where your family is eating, and where you shop.
4) Install cameras everywhere to keep a watchful eye on everything your kids are doing 24/7 to report back to you.
5) Plan something that will take a tremendous amount of help to pull off. Delegate jobs to all your friends and but instruct them that what they are really going to do is call you at the last minute with a bunch of excuses and tell you they can't follow through. Somehow pull off the huge event with just you and your spouse doing everything. Do this repeatedly throughout the year as you prepare.
6) If you are a man and your goal is to pastor a traditional church make sure your wife knows how to play the piano, and fry chicken.
7) If your goal is to pastor a contemporary church be sure to update your look to be as effective as possible on church advertisements. If you're a man, shave your head and get a pair of trendy glasses, jeans, and a crisp cotton long sleeved button down shirt. If you're a woman, get an outfit from somewhere like New York and Company and make over your hair in a style that requires a flat iron.
8) Invite your friends to call you up and email you at inopportune times, to criticize you for random things that are ridiculous "share things in love." Ask them to make those things as unexpected as possible - things totally in left field that you don't expect. Make sure that when they do this, you thank them, and keep a smile on your face. In fact, right after they do it invite them to go out for coffee and underscore to them how much you love them and don't hold anything they just said against them.
9) Start stopping by the local hospitals on your way home, and eat in the cafeteria just for fun.
10) Have your family members throw a bunch of bulletins, Sunday School papers, empty water bottles, an umbrella or two, and a bunch of other people's Bibles around your house. Schedule an event that evening at your house that requires it to be in perfect order. Make sure you will be the only one available to get it ready before that time. Clean it all up yourself and talk God while you're doing it.
These are just a few little starter exercises you can do to prepare yourself -- there are many more and perhaps I'll share them in days to come so stay tuned.
**ME again...unfortunately as insane as this may sound it is ALL true! You can read more from Deanna at Lifetime Intimate Portrait
Enjoy as you read and learn:
*********************************************
Most people will tell you to listen for the voice of God, spend time praying, fasting and reading your Bible. That's definitely top priority, but here are some other things you can do to prepare.1) Set your cell phone alarm to go off at all times of the day and night and interrupt you. When it starts beeping, don't just turn it off. Stop what you are doing for at least an hour, and do something totally different that you didn't plan on at all. Come back later to the project you were working on before. Finish it even if you have to stay up until 2 am.
2) If you are just starting out, make sure to stock up on ramen noodles, easy mac, and peanut butter and jelly.
3) Ask a few people to follow you around all the time, and find out what you're doing, who you're doing it with, where your family is eating, and where you shop.
4) Install cameras everywhere to keep a watchful eye on everything your kids are doing 24/7 to report back to you.
5) Plan something that will take a tremendous amount of help to pull off. Delegate jobs to all your friends and but instruct them that what they are really going to do is call you at the last minute with a bunch of excuses and tell you they can't follow through. Somehow pull off the huge event with just you and your spouse doing everything. Do this repeatedly throughout the year as you prepare.
6) If you are a man and your goal is to pastor a traditional church make sure your wife knows how to play the piano, and fry chicken.
7) If your goal is to pastor a contemporary church be sure to update your look to be as effective as possible on church advertisements. If you're a man, shave your head and get a pair of trendy glasses, jeans, and a crisp cotton long sleeved button down shirt. If you're a woman, get an outfit from somewhere like New York and Company and make over your hair in a style that requires a flat iron.
8) Invite your friends to call you up and email you at inopportune times, to criticize you for random things that are ridiculous "share things in love." Ask them to make those things as unexpected as possible - things totally in left field that you don't expect. Make sure that when they do this, you thank them, and keep a smile on your face. In fact, right after they do it invite them to go out for coffee and underscore to them how much you love them and don't hold anything they just said against them.
9) Start stopping by the local hospitals on your way home, and eat in the cafeteria just for fun.
10) Have your family members throw a bunch of bulletins, Sunday School papers, empty water bottles, an umbrella or two, and a bunch of other people's Bibles around your house. Schedule an event that evening at your house that requires it to be in perfect order. Make sure you will be the only one available to get it ready before that time. Clean it all up yourself and talk God while you're doing it.
These are just a few little starter exercises you can do to prepare yourself -- there are many more and perhaps I'll share them in days to come so stay tuned.
**ME again...unfortunately as insane as this may sound it is ALL true! You can read more from Deanna at Lifetime Intimate Portrait
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