Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Have you ever heard people say, “It is not how you start the game, but how you finish?”  If that statement is true, then why do we spend so much time and energy focusing on how we started or what we didn’t do in life?  God created us with purpose and assignment to fulfill a specific destiny and no matter how we start in life, it doesn’t depict how we are going to finish; however, we are faced with decisions every day that will take us forward into our destinies or keep us repeating negative cycles.

Let us look at this in the Word of God.  Paul who was named Saul used to be the chief persecutor of the early church.  He tells us in many occasions that from his youth, from his beginning he we raised under the straightest sect of his religion and that he lived a Pharisee.  How he was a Jew that sat at the feet of Gamaliel and was taught the perfect manner of law.  Paul talked about how he excelled above all the other Jews and how he persecuted the church unto the way of death and delivered them into prison.

Paul didn’t play, he was zealous toward God and excelled at doing what he did all because of what he was taught growing up.  How many of us do things today, or say things or believe things because of what we experienced or were taught in our early years; things that are grilled in us and have become a part of our behavior and how we function.  Well just like Paul, who once was named Saul, had a decision to make after he came to a place of knowing truth.  Let’s look at this a little closer. 

Paul says to the Philippian church that all things that was gain to him, those things he counted loss for Christ. (Phil 3:7)  Paul was telling them, that what he learned in his beginnings and the clout that he had and how people feared him and the position he walked in; they were all gain to him, but for the sake of the Anointed One and His Anointing (Christ); he decided to count it as loss.  Paul made a decision after his encounter with Jesus, to forsake what he once knew as truth; for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His anointing.

After we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, we begin to learn the truth of the Word of God and who we are in Him.  The Word is supposed to challenge us to make decisions to come out of yesterday so we can walk into our tomorrows.  You must ask yourself, what is influencing the decisions you are making?  Is it the Word of God that will lead you into your destiny or is it from you past that keep you repeating negative cycles. 

We can learn a lot from Paul.  He chose to let go of all the things that once made him big man on the totem pole for the sake of the anointing.  You too must begin to evaluate your thought life and choose to let go things that hinder your progress, not for me or the church or for your parents…but for the sake of the anointing that is on your life.  God has a destiny that only you can fulfill.

Listen to my next broadcast, “Bringing Your Dreams to Life” blog talk radio, Friday, November 18, 2011 at 8:30 am.  www.blogtalkradio.com/karenpresleymin.  The title of that message is the same as the blog, where we can go into this a little further.

Pastor Karen Presley

Also, sign up for our Metamorphosis 1 Yr Coaching Program.  Click here for details.

Are You Living or Just Existing?

Jesus came that we may have life and life more abundantly.  Although we know that scripture and confess that scripture …we do not live in the truth of that scripture.

Now let me explain something; existing doesn’t mean you are dead.  Anything that is dead is not breathing or moving; however, existing is defined as a person who is alive, but yet their life is not producing.

It is very easy to get in a routine, comfortable and complacent with the cards that you were dealt in this game called “Life”; however, I am here to jump start your motor to get you into gear because it is time to put yourself into drive.  You have been on “neutral” for too long.  It is more to you and what God wants to bring out of your life than what you have experienced. 

The Bible says that your latter days shall be greater than your former.  You may be saying, well look at what I’ve accomplished so far.  I’m successful, nice home, loving family, nice career; I’m doing something!  This blog is for you.  Or maybe you are the person who got stuck somewhere in your life because of disappointments or bad decisions or a loss of someone and now you find yourself going through the motions to survive.  I’m pushing both of you to get out of “neutral”, God has more to bring out of you.

Living means something is breathing, moving, bearing fruit, expanding, producing.  When God originally created mankind, He told us to (1) be fruitful; (2) multiply; (3) replenish; (4) subdue; (5) and have dominion.  Now let's look at the first two words for a minute; being fruitful and multiplying has the same meaning as:  increase, growth, reproduce, enlarge, productive, fertile, abundant, profitable, reward.

Can you see how easy it is to get into a rut?  We graduate from high school or college, some of us are working in our careers and a lot of us settled with what we could get.  We could have started a business but treat it like a hobby.  Maybe you started a ministry, but frustrated with the lack of help or support from others.  Needless to say, don’t stop where you are.  Don’t stop dreaming because the dream in you is what is fueling your vehicle to keep moving forward.

Don’t starve that part of you because things have not worked out or you have gotten comfortable with where you are.  If you are still living, then you should still be enlarging, reproducing, growing and increasing in different areas of your life.  The moment we stop enlarging or stop being fertile for another conception then we have shifted into “existing.” 

Listen to my internet radio broadcast entitled:  “Bringing Your Dreams to Life”  and sign up for our 1 Year Coaching Program:  Metamorphosis, we can help you to unlock areas that is keeping you stuck as well as bringing accountability into your life that will push you into your destiny.

I’m for you and I’ll be your greatest cheerleader.  I didn’t come from the good side of the track.  I know what it means to exist and I know what it means to live; living is far better than existing any day.

Go to:  www.karenmpresley.com .  Check out our Metamorphosis tab and our Success Stories.

Are You Making Emotional Choices or Kingdom Decisions?

The word “choice” is defined as, an alternative, the best part of, a variety from which to choose.  When we make emotional choices that are led by our emotions, it will only bring about an emotional result.  Our emotions are dictated by conditions.  The emotions are influenced by the sense realm; meaning, what you can feel, touch, see, hear and smell will influence your emotional status.

Your emotions are not liable and they can’t be trusted.  You can see something or hear something that can literally alter your whole mood.  Has that ever happened to you?  It has happened to me on more than one occasion.  Therefore, when we make choices based on our emotions, the choices we make can lead us into a worse place; because it was based on our mood at that present time.

The word “decision” is defined as a firmness of mind, the act of making up one’s mind.  The benefit to making Kingdom decisions is that it will bring about God’s agenda, plan, purpose and assignment for your life.  Now, I’m not talking about church stuff; but the Kingdom of God lives on the inside of you.  When we make Kingdom decisions, we are advancing the Kingdom on the inside of us.  God wants to advance His plans, purpose, and agenda forward in our lives.  People should be able to eat from the fruit of your life. 

Why do we seem to get ahead only to go backward?  Why can’t we reach that next plateau in our lives or business or ministry?  Why can’t we get over that hurdle to reach the next level?  Could it be that we are making choices that are influenced by our emotions?  Let me give you an example.

Peter, when he asked the Lord to bid him to come out of the boat to come to Jesus; that was a Kingdom decision.  Why, because Peter dared to step out of the box and made a decision that would advance him in the realm of the Spirit.  Once Peter was on the water, he began to look around and seeing the condition of the waves, began to fear and then to sink.  Peter made a firm decision to step out on Jesus’ word to “come”, but once he looked at his condition, the emotional choice was him taking his eyes off Jesus and looking at the condition.

How many times do we hear God’s word or instructions and make the decision to do what we hear, only to shrink back, turn around or just stop moving forward because we are looking at the conditions and circumstances.   God wants us to keep moving forward; having a firmness of mind knowing that He that started a thing will finish it.  Examine what is influencing your actions.  In everything He tells us to do; His purpose is to advance His Kingdom within us.

Listen to my next broadcast, “Bringing Your Dreams to Life” blogtalk radio, Tuesday, September 20, 2011 at 8:30 am. www.blogtalkradio.com/karenpresleymin. The title of that message is: “Is Your Thought Life Sabotaging Your Dreams”

Pastor Karen Presley

www.karenmpresley.com

Find out more details on our Metamorphosis 1 Year Coaching Program starting in the new year.  Click on the link for more details http://www.karenmpresley.com/pages.asp?pageid=108647

Karen Presley's Blog: Marketing Strategies

Karen Presley's Blog: Marketing Strategies

Marketing Strategies

In today’s generation, the buzz is all about social media.  Marketing is crucial to the success and growth of any business, ministry or organization.  Whether you are starting a home-based business or maybe you have a storefront business or maybe you have a level-marketing business; marketing is important no matter what product or service you are offering.

What is marketing?  It is basically advertising or informing others that you have a product or a service to offer.  It’s letting others know that you can solve their problems.  Well how will others know about you unless you make yourself known to the public?  Well let’s talk about some of those strategies to get your business in front of potential customers.

Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, Websites, LinkedIn, YouTube are some of the most popular sites that a lot of people are using.  Although I have accounts with all these social media sites, I never used to use them.  One day a lady called me about my publishing company and I asked her, “how did she hear about me.”  She stated, “my blog.”  It was then that I realized that I needed to be consistent with what I was doing online. 

I will speak further about social media on my next blog; but for now I want to speak about the printing marketing material.  Business cards, brochures, flyers, and rack cards are still necessary to growing your business.  As a business owner and entrepreneur, we must meet the demands and accommodate to where are customers are.  Yes, social media is the happening thing, but printing your marketing material is just as imperative.  All of your customers are NOT online and you will miss a large percentage of your potential customers if you do not have printed marketing material as well as an ONLINE presence.

Make sure your material clearly defines your product/service and the verbiage is plainly articulated on your marketing material.  You want to make sure that people can clearly articulate what your business offers.  Remember, people are busy and don’t have time to decipher what you do.  Let your customers know what problem you can solve for them and how they can reach you.  Wording is just as important as the design and the paper stock.  It all speaks to your business.

We’ll go into this a little further on our next blog.  Sign up for our workshop “Building Your Business Beyond a Hobby” Saturday, October 8, 2011 – 10:20am – 2:30 pm.  Visit: www.karenmpresley.com for more details

The Benefits of Acknowledging God

A life without God’s guidance will lead to frustration, fear and cause an imbalance life.   Have you or do you feel tired of the hustle and bustle of the day to day responsibilities on your things to do list?  If you ever find yourself at your wits end or overwhelmed, you know exactly what I’m talking about.  Let God establish His order in your day to day routine.

The Scriptures are filled with God’s promises to lead and guide us with His wisdom.  Proverbs 3:6 says, “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”  So what happens when we do not acknowledge Him?  We find ourselves doing what we know to do, and sometimes we are not prepared for things that come up in our lives that we didn’t predict.  Not acknowledging God says, we become our own god and we are independent of His guidance in our lives.

Acknowledging means to admit as true and to recognize the authority or claims of; meaning when we acknowledge God in our day to day routines, we are admitting that we are nothing without Him.  We are admitting that we are in need of His guidance, His wisdom, His counsel and His direction.  Sometimes when we do something on an everyday basis, it becomes routine and familiar; so subconsciously we think that we can handle it.  We must realize that we can do nothing without the Lord’s help.

“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:  I will guide thee with mine eye.” Psalms 32:8.  Spending time with the Father in prayer and His Word assures that the well of the Lord will never be empty.  Not only will He keep you refreshed, but He communicates to you everything you need for your day and week ahead of you.  That is a promise that the Father made to His children; He will instruct you in the way to go and then He’ll teach you in that way.

We live in a society where everything is on rush, speed and fast pace.  No one takes time to breathe.  Everything and everyone needs your attention NOW; and these are the things that can steal our moments with God.  However, God will show you how to remove all the excess weights in your life; remember we control our schedule and God will show you what you can and cannot do.  This is what is going to keep you balanced, happy, calm and relaxed; spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically.

My life is very full; I run a graphic and print shop, I have a non-profit outreach ministry, where we do outreach activities, I have my speaking business where I’m a life coach to people as well as a workshop facilitator and I’m a full time pastor with a mandate to uproot and plow through the layers of faulty foundations that causes people to be stuck.  The only way I am able to do what I do, is by acknowledging God, spending time with Him and resting in the grace that He’s given me to do His assignment.  I don’t do anything that I don’t sense the grace for.

 Put God in the driver’s seat today.  He knows every route and even the alternate route when traffic is backed up.  He never sleeps nor slumbers; so you can rest in Him knowing that He that started a work in you will complete it.  He’s just waiting for you to acknowledge Him so He can drive your vehicle.  Everyone’s vehicle is different, some may be in a bike, motorcycle, car, van, plane, train, or boat; whatever the mode of transportation is let God drive it.  He knows how to get you through life without calamities.

Pastor Karen Presley

http://www.karenpresley.org/

Understanding God's Seasons

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Ecc 3:1.  The word season in the Hebrew means Zaman; it’s an appointed or an affixed time.  If everything has a time then we must understand that as we go through life, there are divine appointments waiting for us.

God is not limited to our timetable.  We live by the chronos which is another word for time or the Gregorian calendar.  We measure time by 24 hours in a day; 30 days in a month; 12 months or 365 days in a year; however, God is not moved by the chronos.  God moves by “kairos” time.   Kairos time is a set apart moment/season.  They are God’s divine appointments where time and destiny meets.

Inside of every season are divine appointments.  God links His timing to His will; which is able to interrupt our chronos.  If we are going to be prepared for the kairos moments that are happening even as you are reading this blog; we must prepare ourselves to discern the times, seasons and events from God’s perspective and not our own.  We have a responsibility like the Children of Issachar in 2^nd Chronicles who understood the times and the seasons.  

How do we prepare?  Spending time in the word and in prayer prepares your spirit to discern the prompting and voice of God.  It sensitizes you and makes you familiar with the stillness of God.  God will not speak over your chaos and the noise around you.  The talk of the news and what’s going on can’t be more prevalent than God’s presence.  Yes, it’s ok to stay abreast of the national crisis in the world; however, you must see and hear with your spiritual eyes and ears.  Not allowing the negative comments to be bigger in you than the truth of God’s word.

There is a daily shaking in the world system that strikes fear and confusion in those around us.  We face an uncertain future; however, I believe God is offering the believers tremendous opportunity to break through the norm and see the Kingdom of God expand.  This is the time to press into God and hear the clarion call that has already gone forth as God prepares His bride to bring forth the greatest level of His glory on the earth.  Romans 8 talks about how all the earth is travailing, and groaning in expectation of the manifestation of the Sons of God.

This is the time to stay focus on the big picture and not the day to day obstacles that are stealing our attention from the greater purpose.  Do you remember “Get Smart” the TV show?  Maxwell Smart would walk through these doors and one by one as he reached the door it would open.  Maxwell never stopped walking.  He didn’t pause or hesitate to see if the door would open; he just kept moving forward with full anticipation that the next door would open.

I like to call that the seasons of God and when we walk through another door it represents the kairos moments.  If we are good stewards over our chronos, by keep moving forward with what God put in your heart to do then we will step into the divine appointments that God has for us which will transition us into another season.

Pastor Karen Presley

www.karenpresley.org