Welcome to the November 7th edition of Faith & Life Lessons.
You will see this email full of tidbits from my week. My goal is simple. I hope that from how I live my life, you can find a thing or two that helps you as you try to live a life that matters. I am always trying to do one thing - make Christ-focused decisions in love, work, and life. And this was my week.
The Story of My Week
This was probably one of my most tiring weeks.
I had to navigate 3 time zones and make two 10-hour international flights.
Add to that, I had to keep the early morning commitment I had on the 30 Anchors in 30 Days online life training.
Doing live training through 2 different time zones meant that my sleep pattern was disrupted.
I was happy to be back home on Friday.
As I write this on Sunday, I have not been out of the apartment after coming in on Friday evening.
I had to do church online.
My life, my work, my ministry are all rolled into one.
I must keep in sync with the structure that I have set up in my life.
It's the structure that keeps my eyes on the most important things.
It helps me to focus my impact on the things most important to God for me for my current season of life.
I want to be found faithful.
Without overwhelming my body.
My body gets the catch-up this weekend.
So I can serve God better and longer.
Things I Learnt
1-More than Work: During the week, I had to make a business trip to Ethiopia. Making the trip was a bit complicated. On Tuesday, I was at the airport but I could not fly because of a technical issue and some documentation that did not come through until 35 minutes after my 8 am flight had taken off.
The office got the flight changed to Wednesday.
Later on Tuesday evening, I get information that a nationwide state of emergency has been declared because of fears that Tigray fighters were moving to take over the national capital, Addis Ababa.
As I mulled over the potential trip, a thought started coming into my heart. "I need to be in Ethiopia".
I felt God tell me that He wanted me to be on the ground to pray for the country.
Beyond the work purpose, I felt strongly that I was bringing a spiritual blessing to the country.
The trip was pretty tiring with back-to-back meetings. I had to remind myself that I had a responsibility to pray for the country.
I did this a couple of times.
I don't know what the future for Ethiopia is but I know it is important to God.
This work trip just came out of the blues in less than a week.
But it is God raising pray-ers for the country.
I'm sure there are many more people in the gap.
God will perfect the story of Ethiopia.
2-Be Presently Present: I listened to an interview with CAA partner and music division head, Rob Light. In case you don't know CAA, Creative Artists Agency is an American talent and sports agency and is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business.
As of 2007, it had a client list that included a near-monopoly of A-list actors, writers, and directors. Its roster has musicians like Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Ed Sheeran, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Carrie Underwood, & Stevie Wonder amongst others.
Rob Light has been a managing partner in the agency for over 20 years. Despite his busy work demands, his family remains his top priority.
He's been married for over 30 years with 5 children. At a big industry award ceremony that he was been honored, his 5 kids presented him with the award. This was the first time in the awards' history.
Each of them made a speech. His daughter at the end said "I don't know how my dad did it but he never missed a soccer game, a dance recital, or an appointment with me. And I love him for that."
Everyone in the room that he worked with asked him, "how did you do that because you are at every concert, it's impossible?"
His response was simple. I am present in the moment.
When he is home, he is not looking at his phone. He doesn't think his children ever saw him looking at his phone when they were in a restaurant because he would not pull it out in front of them. If he had something, he would go into the restroom to look at it because he didn't want them to think there was something on the phone that was more important than them.
And if he is at a show, he doesn't look at his phone. He wants to be fully present for the artists he is managing.
Being present meant being in the moment.
And this is something I need to practice more often.
We have been told to multitask so often that we think we need to multitask when we are with the people that matter most to us.
Thanks for this reminder, Rob.
Postscript
May the Lord bless and keep you. May the Lord grant you peace. May His face shine upon you. May you stand in His grace. Though the world lies in shadows, yet you will shine in it with the truth of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Tata,
Tola - The Everyday Disciple
I help Christians like you who want to live intentional lives incorporate their faith into everyday life so they can make Christ focused decisions in all areas of life and truly live to make an impact and make God happy.
0 comments