DIG: Raising Your Awareness, AKA, Renewing Your Mind

Companion Text of the book Think
& Grow Rich with line numbers

I have been making posts on various social media platforms about my involvement with the study of this book.  Many Christians are kept stuck in darkness because they do not listen to the voice of God within them and they are unable to discern his voice.  There is a reason so many Christians remain in poverty, ill health and suffering many years after accepting Christ even though he made it clear that it is not God's will for us to remain in that state. Thankfully, the two mentors leading the study are devout practicing Christians and they are not shy about sharing their faith and how the principles contained in the book line up with the Word of God.

Andrew Carnegie, one of the wealthiest men in America back in the early 1900's commissioned Napoleon Hill to study the subject of how wealthy people obtained and keep their wealth.  The study involved thousands of subjects and lasted over 20 years.  Napoleon brilliantly compiled his research and broke it down to the thirteen principles outlined in the book.  And what would you know, the principles all line up in some way or the other with the Word!  See, nothing hocus-pocus here, just information based on principles resulting from many years of research and observations that just happen to line up with God's laws.

Here are some take-aways from the course from myself and another participant, Anna Laqeretabua:

Thoughts from Think & Grow Rich by Anna Laqeretabua

The TAGR lessons are so powerful that they keep resonating in my mind. This morning I had a greater understanding of one of my favorite scriptures, "Do not be conformed to the standards of this world, but be ye TRANSFORMED by the renewing of your MIND, that you may know the perfect, acceptable, will of God" - Romans 12:2:

My understanding is that conformity is Level 2 awareness, the masses and we are called not to conform but be transformed, at Level 4 - (hearing clearly from God and knowing your uniqueness) renewing the mind by Level 5 - (Discipline - taking action to live out individual purpose) that I may know - Level 6 - (Experience - living out purpose, bearing fruit), the perfect, acceptable will of God - Level 7 - (Mastery and Dominion over all things) - bringing God glory. Thank you Roddy & Paul Martinelli and the Empowerment Mentoring Team... bought lifetime access and intent on making this my one voice this year that I will layer against the scripture to bring about my one goal #transformational #grateful #TAGR4

Thoughts from Think & Grow Rich: Why We Need A Plan by Beverley Allen (from my LinkedIn post)

I have been doing this study with Paul Martinelli and Roddy Galbraith. Oh my, are they ever great teachers and mentors! I have decided,  like Paul,  I will study the book for the rest of my life.  Something that hit me recently during the study on Persistence -  Hill said only 2 out of every 100 people have a definite goal and a definite plan for its attainment, thus having the awareness of how to transmute (convert) desire into it's monetary equivalent. The other 98% has to be taught/coached! Today,  over 80 years after the book was first published still only 1% of the population controls more than 80% of the world's wealth.  80% of the population in USA and Canada have investable assets of $50,000 or less. That means in spite of the progress made over the last 100 years,  in terms of wealth and financial security,  there is much work that needs to be done! Huge opportunity for coaches,  mentors and advisors!
#coaching #investments #mentoring #persistence #howto #planning

I believe over twenty thousand individuals signed up for the study; I thank Anna for sharing her insights and allowing me to pass them on through this blog post.

The study we are in now will end this weekend, however, if you are interested in doing the program please let me know either by commenting on this blog post or send me an email to beverley.allen@dfsin.ca

It's wake-up Wednesday!

Beverley

DIG: Doing God's Work

From the garden:  A
 reminder spring is coming

Friends and fans, this thought has been popping up in my mind for a while now and recently I was having a chat with a colleague and sure enough it emerged again so I'm sharing this thought with you all.

For most of my life I believed that God's work only involved active ministry, that is, serving in the church, doing missions and the various aspects of church ministry.  I believed that because that was how I perceived it based on the preaching, teaching and how the people in my world portrayed doing God's work.  My quest to grow spiritually over the last twenty years changed that.  I now have a deeper understanding of purpose, profession and serving.

There is a saying that the two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you know why.  Knowing why you were born is finding your purpose.  If you are a believer, that is you believe in God; if you are a Christian, that is you believe  the gospel of Christ and accept Jesus as your saviour, and you have not yet come to terms with the "why", you need to keep seeking and dig deep because everything will change for you once you answer that question.

The error that many folks make is thinking that their life's purpose has to be something big or note worthy and it doesn't.  Whatever you do that adds value to another person's life is God's work.  Whatever you do that eases a persons mind from stress and frustration is God's work.  If we really get this; really, really get it, our perspective on life and the world around us changes for the good. We begin to see people for who they are, God's creation who are suffering, have gone a stray, have been born into different circumstances and who need love and compassion no matter their station in life.
Interestingly, the message at church (RCCG-Jesus House Toronto @JoyCentre) this past Sunday was "What is the worth of a soul".  As the pastor closed off the service, he asked the congregation to remember to minister to people that cross their path, in some simple yet very impactful ways.

+Michael Lee-Chin, the Jamaican immigrant who became a billionaire in the Canadian financial services industry, has said repeatedly in his books, in speeches and interviews that he is grateful and privileged to be born at at time like this, in a country like Jamaica and to live in Canada where he could have brought his vision to reality. I heard him make the statement a few times.  He, along with the people who support him, has created many opportunities for individuals to reach their potential and bring their dream to reality; thousands of people have employment at various levels and are able to provide for their family and bless others.  However, we all do not need to create billion dollar enterprises or be the pastor of a mega-church to serve God.  Regardless of what we do for a living, be it a brain surgeon or the janitor at the hospital, we are all doing God's work.  If we think about it like that we will have a totally different attitude about going to work and dealing with the difficult challenges every day.

Remember, God created the world, it is good. On the grand scheme of things, in spite of all the negativity and bad things that happen every day, there is so much good all around us all the time and there is where our focus needs to be.  Go ahead make the shift, you will be glad you did.

Make this a turn-around Tuesday,

Beverley

DIG: The Joy Of Self-Discovery

Taken from the airplane
Sun setting over the Caribbean

If we don't know ourselves how can we be expected or even claim we know others? We see the problems caused by lack of awareness at every level of society.  Over the past three years the world's eyes have been trained on Washington, DC on the United States Government apparatus and it's key players, in particular, the president, Donald Trump. There is no clearer example of people who are tasked with making laws and decisions that affect not only every single resident of the country, but also almost everyone living on the planet! This is no accident, all these players are reflecting the state of consciousness and it tells us that there is much work to be done.

Awareness and self-discovery are critical to living with inner peace and find joy in the journey of life.  Our outer conflicts reflect the state of our inner being. It is therefore no accident that you will hear the saying if "if you want to change the world (positively) start with yourself". Over the years I have come to understand that most of our human suffering and emotional pain is in the mind and so in order to be free we need to release ourselves from this burden. Jamaican Reggae Icon Bob Marley said it best in the song, Emancipate Your Self (emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but yourself can free your mind). Most of the words of the song are taken straight out of the scriptures - he had awareness.

What Bob Marley didn't tell you in the song is how to emancipate yourself from this mental slavery that causes so much suffering in self, families and societies.  Very few people are released from their mental suffering by spontaneous healing, one of those people is Eckhart Tolle, as detailed in his book, The Power Of Now.  For most people, this has to be intentional.   There are no shortage of resources to help us on this journey.  Many people start the process after a big setback or loss in their lives.  Others just wanted to improve the quality of their own lives and their relationships, while some are seekers.  They are seeking to go deeper in their relationship with God.  It doesn't matter why we start the journey, what matters is that we start. When the student is ready the teacher appears!  This is so true, because that is how it is with God, he will furnish us with the resources we need because that is what he promised us.

Six steps to help with self discovery:

1) For Christians, the best place to start is with the Bible.  Read all the scriptures on love, forgiveness, healing and emotional well being. Don't just read them, digest them as well.  Do not be afraid to go deep so read slowly and reflectively.

2)  Read biographies of people who have overcome great difficulties, poverty and lack for encouragement and inspiration.

3) If you had traumatic situations in your life, seek the services of professionals trained and or specialized in the area of need.

4) Surround yourself with positive people who are encouraging and uplifting.

5) Learn to meditate, God reveals answers to your questions and gives you direction when you quiet the mind and listed.  Have a core group - two or three people - whom you can talk things out with, or even run things by before you take action.  Your core group or "inner circle" must be well grounded individuals; and if they are in leadership or professionals in the field of health, mental health and behavioural disciplines that would be a huge gift to you.

6) Talk with people.  Many of people grew up in families where conversations were not normal.  What was normal is barking out commands, telling them what they should or shouldn't or can't do, or criticisms and put-downs.  Thus they never learned to converse.  It is amazing what you learn just by chatting instead of "interrogating". Take a course in effective communications if you have to, it will only help your life.

Make this a transformational Tuesday,

Beverley

DIG: We don't need to beg God, all we need to do is ask!

Captured the wonder of the
elements from the hills of
Clarendon

For majority of people, prayer involves pleading with God to hear their petitions, or even down right begging.  The scriptures in the new testament instruct us to ask, not plead, not beg, but ask believing.
I know because I've heard this over and over again, and I have done more than my fair share of begging also; mostly out of frustration. Well, this morning while listening to Paul Martinelli and Roddy Galbraith of Empowerment Mentoring teach the lesson on Faith from Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich book (TAGR2019) I got an "ah ha" moment! If God was like man it would be an offence to beg him!

When and why did we learn to beg God when the instructions are so clear - "And whatever you ask for in prayer, believing, you will receive." Matthew 21:22 (AMP)

I am now realizing that our unanswered prayers most likely have more to do with our own lack of understanding and lack of faith than God withholding our requests and petitions.  One thing that I know for sure is that us humans are not very good at listening. How many times have you agreed with someone and they kept going as if you were disagreeing with them, even while you were saying "I agree, I agree, I hear you"?  So in conclusion, while we renew our minds daily we need to do so with focus and intention. This will help us improve our listening skills, with both hearing from God and our fellow humans.

Here's a scripture to meditate on today:  John 15:16 (AMP)

"You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name [as My representative] He may give to you."

Have a fantastic Friday,

Beverley

P.S. If you are interested you can still join the TAGR2019 even though it's underway. Go to www.TAGR2019.  It's free

Honesty To Self: The Answer To Most Of Our Problems

Why so hard to be honest with ourselves?  A better question still is why do we think we can fool God by being dishonest to ourselves? So many people running around pretending to be who they are not,  trying to be somebody else instead of being true to themselves.  Why is it so scary to be authentic? There are many ways to answer this question but the one that jumped out in front is that the world has fallen so deep into deception that it seems easier to many people to be fake than to be the sincere. 

As Christians we simply cannot lose sight of this truth: It is a spiritual warfare! The battles being waged in this season is mental, psychological and spiritual. The thing is, if you don't know who or what you're up against you're fighting a losing battle.
 Ephesians 6:11-16
11-Put on the whole armour of God,  that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12-For we wrestle not with against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world,  against spiritual wickedness in high places.  13-Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God,  that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all stand. 14-Stand therefore,  having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15-And your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; 16-Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked.

How To Dig Deeper:
Without introspection and self-reflection we cannot fully know ourselves.  We cannot change or heal what we are not aware of, so if is your desire to get deeper in God and be authentically you take these steps -  1) Read scriptures pertaining to the fruits of the spirit and good character. Read meditatively. 2) Practise Meditation. If you are sceptical about meditation I suggest you do some research about the practise of meditation.  Jesus practised  Meditation and if was good for Jesus, it's good for me. 3) Get help to overcome difficult issues or situations.  Read widely and get mentors.

Honestly,  most of the time we find ourselves stuck or in a rut is because we are refusing to see what we need to see and accept the we are the problem,  not society,  not others. That is why they say if you want to change the world, start with yourself!

Have a blessed Sunday,

Beverley

I've Never Been Here Before And It Feels Great

I am one of those people who was glad to bid goodbye to 2018! Last year and the two before brought me much personal challenges. I have been tested to my maximum limit, but like King David, the Lord delivered me out of it all. I am grateful to be alive, that I am of sound mind, my needs are taken care of and above all, I am at peace with myself and the world.

This morning as I rolled over in bed after the alarm went off I surveyed my life and thought "this feels good, I am in a great place". If I was in the house by myself I would have danced around singing
" Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay 
My, oh, my, what a wonderful day 
Plenty of sunshine headin' my way 
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!…"  and praising God alternately but I settled for quietly screening praises to the most High; it was 5am and I'm on vacation.

Three things worth noting here.  I believe in miracles. When people pray for me I pay attention to the words they speak over my life; and I believe that God still speak to his people through prophecy.  My entire adult life has been wrought with challenges, just one after another. I confess that at times I was bitter and angry. What did I do to deserve this I would ask. Why can't I have life easy just once? Why can't I get what I want like everyone else, I would ask out loud on occasion. I was not getting the answers to those questions so I did what every other Christian does after doing it their way - I turned to God as the spirit had instructed me to do, through his faithful servant and my dear friend Ruth. What an amazing and interesting process!

There have been a lot of twists and turns but I was hungry for change and I held fast to my faith. There is one particular instance worth mentioning as it is relevant to the topic. I did tax returns for this lovely couple for a number of years. In March of 2005 they came in to get their 2004 tax returns done. After the job was completed we did the usual chitchat then they asked if they could pray for me and I agreed. I remember the husband specifically asking God to restore me to my health and vitality of twenty years before. After they left I was speechless for a while. How would he have known to pray that unless the spirit directed him to? After all I didn't tell them or anyone else how I was feeling. Here's an interesting twist - the December before I had picked up a copy of O Magazine, Oprah Winfrey was pictured in a red dress and she exudes health and vitality. As soon as I saw the magazine cover I exclaimed to myself, "that's how I want to feel"!

For me, it's better than twenty years prior because I have never been this contented and at peace with myself and the world before. Praise God.

Grace & Peace,
Beverley

For 2019 Find Your Voice & Hold Your Ground & Keep Your Peace

Happy New Year my dear friends, I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
My desire for all of us this year is:

 1). That we find our voices and become bold and unapologetic about our relationship with God.  For the longest time I was timid about proclaiming my Christian faith but no more.  Being shy about our relationship with Jesus is like dating someone secretly, or not wanting people to know who our parents are. Bottom line is, it tells others that we are not proud of who we are because we are ashamed of our Heavenly Father.  Phewee, glad I got that out because that's at the heart of it, truthfully.  Of course, finding our voices does not mean being rude and or insulting to others, it's just the opposite. Being bold about in whom we believe doesn't mean we go about trying to "ram God down people's throats"; not at all because we can't make anyone believe and we can't save them. We can love them, we can be kind and we can share the Good News. The rest is God's job not ours.

2). Take a stand and stick to it.  You've probably heard of the saying "if you don't stand for something you will fall for anything or everything"? Well, it's true. We must not side with or condone bad behavior or be door mats; neither must we be crutches for people to stay stuck, nor be enablers. I am currently reading John C. Maxwell's book, How Successful People Think. Here's a thought from the chapter on Engage In Focused Thinking:  Sociologist Robert Lynd observed that "knowledge is power only if a man knows what facts are not to bother about".  In the chapter on Big Picture Thinking John said "If you want to be a big-picture thinker, you will have to go against the flow of the world.  Society wants to keep people in boxes.  Most people are married mentally to the status quo.  They want what was, not what can be. Thy seek safety and simple answer." To be true to yourself you have to go against the grain and you have to be mentally tough. This will feel uncomfortable for a while but as you gather strength and become more self-assured you will get used to it. What other people think or say will matter less and less until it doesn't matter anymore. Be patient and trust the process, it works and it's worth it. This is growth. This is freedom.

3). There's a saying floating around that if something cost you your peace it is too expensive and I've never heard a truer statement!  Many years ago I lost mine and it cost me in every way possible. Then I had to seek intentionally and diligently to find it again and I will not trade it again for all the gems on the planet.  Be authentically you always, speak your truth calmly and respectfully and ask God for the wisdom to know when to say nothing at all. You are responsible for your conduct and how you treat people.  You are not responsible for what they think, feel or how they behave.

Let us grow together in 2019 and experience the magnificent Grace of God in Christ Jesus.

Love & Joy,
Beverley

Note: John C Maxwell is an ordained minister.  He is the author of over a hundred best selling books and has been named the #1 leadership guru by Inc magazine for many consecutive years. He is the Principal founder of the John Maxwell Team (JMT) of which I am a member.