I happened to be skimming through Dave Ramsey’s recommended reading list, and I wrote down several books that I thought would be a great help (which were most of the ones on his list).  Then I searched the catalog of our local library to see if they had any of them.  They actually had several.

So on my way to band practice at church last night, I stopped at the Amelia branch, signed up for a library card (which I had been meaning to do anyway), and searched for some of the books.

I walked out with two books.  One of them was The One Minute Manager by Dr. Kenneth Blanchard and Dr. Spencer Johnson.  It was a small paperback - only about 110 pages.

I read the book in under one hour, and I have to say, it was better than I could have expected. It was very simple, and it was written in the style of a narrated story (which I wasn’t expecting), but it was chock full of some very practical methods of managing people and getting great results.

I won’t spoil the three secrets in the book for you.  I HIGHLY suggest you pick up a copy and give it a read.  It is definitely worth turning off the TV for an hour to read (which I need to do more of anyway).  This book is great whether you manage a home, a business, a family, or a life.

I’m definitely going to apply the things that I learned in this book, and I can already tell you that they are going to work.

On to the next book!

Have any of you read anything like this (or this one specifically)?  Any thoughts?

Life is happening.  And my blog has fallen by the wayside.

I have a few thoughts stirring around at the moment, so I’ll probably start posting them on here.

One Word: Training.

I’m beginning to lay out a plan to train some people and bring them up to do some of the things that I do so that I can focus on the bigger things.  I haven’t done a very good job on this lately, and it’s starting to catch up with me.

Be ready for me to pick your brains about it.

Yesterday was mostly a good day as far as my goals go. I made prayer and Bible reading more of a priority.  I didn’t overeat (although I didn’t eat extremely healthy - yet again).  Still am not where I want to be in how I treat Marie though. It’s been difficult lately because we’ve been missing some alone time since the past couple of weeks have been pretty busy.  I definitely notice a difference in our relationship when we don’t make that time a priority. I’m probably more guilty of it than she is.  After tonight, the rest of this week is fairly open though, so it will definitely be more of a focus for us both.

Although I didn’t go “exercise” yesterday, I’m claiming at least 30 minutes of exercise.  Our yard is about 2/3 of an acre, and it usually takes a little over 3 hours to push mow our front and back yard total.  I did it in less than 2 and a half last night, and when I was done, I felt like I had just run a marathon.  So I’m counting that as exercise. My heart rate was definitely up, that’s for sure!

Each day is becoming a little easier to meet my goals.  I know by the end of the 40 days it will be even easier.  I’m looking forward to looking back over this time and seeing the improvements in my health, my relationships with God and my wife, and my priorities.

Just thought that was interesting.

Days 2 through 4 were “okay.” I ran 2 miles on Friday (which about killed me), and I did pretty well with the whole eating healthy and not overeating thing…until last night.  Except to grab some lunch, I was at church yesterday from 7:30am until 9:30pm.  So when I left, I was starving.  And I guess I ate healthy if you consider eating 2 Whopper Juniors at 10pm to be healthy. If you do, then you probably need help.

I have been doing better at my Bible reading and prayer times, but not good enough.  Need to step it up there.  I’m just not consistent enough yet.

And I wouldn’t give myself an “A” on being loving towards my wife this weekend.  For some reason, I’ve been kind of stressed lately, and she’s the first one to see that.  I hate that. I need to be more intentional about things, and I just wasn’t this weekend.

As for the fasting this week, I’m going to switch to Thursday because I have a business lunch on Wednesday.

So, I think I’m improving some, but I definitely have a lot to work on.  I know this week will be a big step in my commitment.

How are you doing?

I have some things to learn and confess from yesterday.

• Did my prayer time.  I did things a little different yesterday.  I wrote down my prayers as I was going along.  Helped me to focus a lot more.  I actually prayed for 20 minutes instead of 10.
• I wasn’t as loving towards my wife as I should have been.  Sometimes when I’m stressed out and/or tired, I don’t act the way I should.  Late last night was no exception.  I was pretty much a jerk. I need to fix that.
• I ate sort of healthy (and didn’t overeat) until later in the evening.  Had a weak moment at Skyline with a friend.  Shouldn’t have eaten that 3-Way.
• Haven’t exercised yet this week, but I’m planning on doing that tonight and tomorrow.  Been a busy week so far.
• I said “no” to something that would have been really good - but not great.  And it was hard to do.
• Didn’t read my Bible.  I am really disappointed in myself.  I only had to do it for 10 minutes, and I didn’t make it a priority.  Pathetic.

So now I’m on to today.  I know what I need to work on (pretty much everything), and I’m committed to make it happen.

How about you?  Are you making some changes?

Okay, I’m going to rip something off of a good buddy.  I read a post on my friend, Aron’s, blog this morning about something he is calling 40 Days of Focus, and I made a decision.  I’m going to join him during this 40 days.

By doing this, I am committing to:

• Uninterrupted 10 minute prayer time daily
• Fasting every Wednesday
• Asking God to help me become more loving towards my wife
• Eating healthy
• Exercising 3 times a week for 30 minutes

And I’m adding two more of my own:

• Saying “no” to good things to make way for the great things that I should be doing
• Uninterrupted 10 minutes of Bible study daily (I really struggle with this - so I’m starting small)

I’m going to try blogging about this (like Aron) to keep me accountable as well.  I’ve never done anything like this before, so I’m not sure exactly how it will go, but we’ll see.

As Aron mentioned on his blog, you’re welcome to join us.

I’m excited to see how this changes things in my life for the better.

We paid off about $30,000 in just over a year working Dave Ramsey’s baby steps.

Guys, this just plain works if you do it. It’s not easy, but it’s not that hard either once you get started.

On a similar note, we just started going through Financial Peace University this past Tuesday. Marie and I are really excited to go through the course with a couple of our friends. Even though we’ve been on Dave’s plan for a year, we are still learning a LOT by going through FPU. Can’t wait until next Tuesday!

Now it’s on to baby step number 3 - a fully funded emergency fund of 3 to 6 months expenses.

Stay tuned.

I’m watching the videos of the main sessions from the 2008 Unleash Conference at NewSpring Church, and Perry Noble just said something that really hit me hard.

He was talking about the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15, but he didn’t talk about the lost son. He talked about the other son.

Basically, his point was that the older son was so busy out in the field working for his father, that he didn’t know his father’s heart. He drew the parallel that we as the church can get so caught up in “doing the Father’s work” that they don’t spend any time with him to know his heart.

It’s not that we do the “wrong” things or that we’re not doing it for the right reason or in God’s name, but a lot of times we end up making it “our work” instead of the Father’s work. And we don’t spend any time with Him in the process.

I think this is one of the biggest things I can be guilty of. A lot of times I get so caught up in doing the Father’s work that I neglect spending time with him.

I really believe if we’re able to reconcile these two things, God will move in powerful ways in our lives and in our church.

Let’s spend more time with the Father while we’re doing His work.