Steven Covey’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, was a best seller for a good reason. The habits he described are not only proven by those who are successful - they are quite Biblical in nature. Habits like, "be proactive," "begin with the end in mind," "put first things first," "think win/win," "see to understand then to be understood," "synergize," and "sharpen the saw" are wonderful principles by which to live each day but how do you develop good habits?

Kenneth Cooper wrote the book on aerobic exercise. He is no doubt either directly or indirectly responsible for most of the exercise in America today. Wow! That’s right - he really made an impact as he demonstrated through research what good things happen to the body and the mind when a person gets into the habit of regular exercise. Cooper did one more thing - he not only wrote and lectured about the benefits of regular aerobic exercise he told us how. But as good as we know exercise is for us and as good as we know we’ll feel, and as much as we understand how to exercise most people are wondering, how can I develop the habit of regular exercise?

As I was preparing for our CLASS 201 on "Discovering My Spiritual Growth and Maturity" I was preparing to teach the how to of regular time with God in His Word and prayer, or if you please, a daily quiet time with God. We know this is important because the Bible tells us we were created to have fellowship with God, Jesus came that we might enjoy fellowship with God, Jesus gave us an example that He spent time with God, the Father, in prayer and meditation, every person who has ever been effective in ministry has had the habit of a regular time with God. Besides you can’t grow as a Christian unless you do spend time with God - in His Word and in prayer. But as good as we understand that, how can we develop the habit of a regular "quiet time" with God?

Here’s some help…

Remember it takes three weeks to become familiar with a new task and another three weeks before it becomes a comfortable habit. It’s interesting how many times Jan will teach some Mary Kay consultants some very good ways to conduct their business and they will start out with every intention of doing the right thing but after a couple of weeks, unless there is a renewal and a recommitment to get them over the six week hump they will start to cut down on the basic things that can make them successful. Likewise, when people exercise - they don’t mean to quit after a week or two into a program but they start to find excuses and never really get into a habit. When new Christians or renewed Christians make a commitment to spend time with God each day - they don’t mean to stop after just a week or ten days but somehow they just don’t get into the habit.

1. DESIRE - You must have a strong desire - INTERNAL MOTIVATION. This cannot come from someone else - it must come from within. When you get sick and tired of being sick and tired and are ready to do what it takes - then look within - that is MOTIVATION. Jesus gave us all kinds of motivation to serve and follow Him - He still looks to us to make the move.

2. DECISION - Make your move - DECIDE to do what you know you should be doing - be it a daily quiet time with God, daily exercise, more productive work habits, etc. Do it right now! You don’t slide into a new habit - you decide and make your move. NOW! "If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done." - Eccl. 11:4 (Living Bible)

3. DECLARATION - Announce your intentions publicly. Make a covenant or resolution but don’t keep it to yourself. The power of a vow is awesome! It is particularly powerful if you put your commitment in writing. "Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them." Psalm 76:11

4. DETERMINATION - Never allow an exception until the new habit is securely rooted in your life. Each lapse is fatal. A single slip unwinds many turns at first. Never be swayed by "just this once won’t hurt." It will. It takes 3 weeks to become comfortable with something and another 3 weeks for it to become a habit.

5. DO IT NOW! - Whenever you feel the slightest urge or prompting to practice the new habit, JUST DO IT!

6. DOUBLE UP - Get a partner to hold you accountable, to support and encourage you. When I recently moved, I moved from my consistent connection to accountability in my triathlon training. The past two and a half years God blessed me with a great training partner in my friend Karl Lutes. As training partners, we not only ran, cycled, and swam together each week but we would always recite what we had done on our own to each other and that accountability was enough to make us both work a little harder on our own than we would without it. By the way, we decided to try to keep it going - the accountability - via email. "Let us consider and give attentive, continuous care to watching over each other, studying how we may stir up and stimulate each other to… helpful deeds and noble activities." - Heb. 1:25 (Amp) "Two are better than one, because together they can work more effectively. If one of them falls down, the other can help him up." - Eccl. 4:9-10 (GN)

7. DEPEND UPON GOD - Rely on God’s power to help you establish the habit. "For the Spirit of God has given us … fills us with power, love, and self control." - 2Tim.1:7 (GN) "For it is God who is at work within you, giving you the will and the power to achieve His purpose." - Phil. 2:13 (Ph)

Whatever kind of good habits you want to add to your life if you will this week dig deep for the desire, make the decision to just do it, declare to others your intentions, be determined to do it no matter what comes, do it at the slightest urge to practice the habit, double up by making yourself accountable to another person, and depend upon God.

GODSPEED!

Bob Brubaker, a.k.a. "SPAM MAN"

Let's face it - we'd all like to succeed. Before we can achieve success or arrive there - we need to define it or we'll never know whether we have made it or not. Here are a few definitions of success:

1. Webster: a) outcome, result; b) a degree or measure of succeeding; c) a favorable termination of a venture
2. John Maxwell: Success is a journey - not a destination
3. Tony Robins: Success is processional, the result of small disciplines
4. Anonymous: Success is a result of perseverance
5. Jesus: Success is knowing God and enjoying His presence in your life

The definitions are really closer than you may think. We all have an outcome or result in mind when we think of success. We can choose how we wish to define that favorable outcome, but the success that will bring the most satisfaction is enjoying the presence of God and knowing Him as Jesus said.

God is not one to promote sitting idle in life and doing nothing. He has designed us for greatness and achievement. In fact, procrastination and laziness are condemned throughout the Word of God. Listen to what God says about the pathway of success:

Joshua 1:6-8 (NIV) "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."

It sounds like God has some principles for success doesn't it?

Let's go back to Maxwell's definition of success. In his book, Maxwell outlines the fact that too often we seek after a goal, a destination, a mark, when in reality the success we are looking for is really the lifestyle and daily disciplines that accompany the road to achievement. In other words - little by little, step by step, momentum is found by conforming to the way of success. Therefore, when a goal or achievement is reached, the lifestyle of success does not stop but lives on through us.

Success is, as Tony Roins says, "processional a momentum that is built through a series of life changing disciplines and the more we persevere at these disciplines we find a successful lifestyle."

That's exactly what God was telling Joshua, what Jesus was teaching, and what successful leaders are passing on to others today. Pick up the momentum by taking on the disciplines of success - little by little and step by step. It's not like one day you'll say you have arrived but it's like Paul said in the New Testament it's applying yourself to something that is bigger than you and realizing you are on the road and making progress.

Philippians 3:12-15 (NIV) Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.

GODSPEED!

Bob Brubaker, a.k.a. "SPAM MAN"

Picture yourself in a wheelchair. While the world around your swims, bikes, and runs - you must swim without a kick, cycle with your hands, and push your weight in a wheelchair the exact same distance as any other Ironman triathlete. Last weekend, my friend, Randy Caddell raced in the Ironman USA competition in Lake Placid, New York and did pretty well. Randy didn't come to New York looking for any special favors. All he needed was just a little help getting in and out of the water to his wheelchair and the rest was up to him.

While talking to Randy a few days prior to the race, I learned that Ironman USA in Lake Placid, NY was his sixth Ironman race of the year. That means he has traveled throughout the United States and internationally with his racing wheelchair, his hand-cycling chair, and his "get around" chair. Randy doesn't spend the time around races looking for sympathy; rather he looks for opportunities to speak to kids and anyone else who will listen to his message of determination. And boy, does he show it.

Coming out of the 2.4 mile swim in a time that would make any athlete proud, Randy just proceeded as usual to his hand cycle chair to ride the two 56 mile laps. That's a chair with a pedals designed for his hands. Randy climbed the many hills pedaling with his hands. That would be quite a feat in itself, but like every other athlete, once the 112 miles of cycling was through the 26.2 mile run began. For Randy it meant pushing himself in a race wheelchair by grabbing the sides of the wheels and pushing himself forward. There was hardly an athlete who came close to Randy who didn't have word of encouragement for the wheel chair athlete but it was Randy's sheer determination that kept him going when things got tough. When asked how he does it his comments are the same "lots of determination and taking just one step at a time."

I am glad I had the opportunity to get to know Randy, staying at the same location during race week, because I was really impressed with his tenacity in getting things done.

I thought of Randy as I considered the great life's lesson he displays for us. None of us have life flow perfectly but we can make it through one day at a time if we'll just do it, little by little and never give up.

The Bible is full of examples of people with sheer determination, which the Bible calls F-A-I-T-H. In fact, the eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews is full of examples. Within the confines of that chapter there are three with great faith and determination to consider Abel, Enoch, and Noah.

Notice it was Abel who worshipped God, there was no doubt a distraction from his brother and a million other things around him but Abel was determined to worship God in an acceptable manner. The way God had required. And God honored him as a result of his resolve to worship.

Enoch was a man who walked with God and did what pleased God. If you read the account in the book of Genesis you can see that Enoch lived in a time that walking with God and doing what pleased God did not come easy but by his determination and faith, Enoch pleased God.

Then there was Noah. Noah is known for his boat construction, which was no easy task for the thing was quite large. It was no raft as Tom Hanks constructed on "Castaway." It was very large. What kept Noah going throughout this long building project? A building project that was no doubt in the midst of scoffers and those who ridiculed him because he was building it, as God told him too to protect he and his family, along with wildlife from the coming rain and floods. Only thing, up to this point it hadn't rained. So here's Noah building taking on a building project, no doubt the brunt of many jokes, but he keeps working. How? His faith and determination made the difference.

What are you facing today that seems impossible or difficult? What do you feel like quitting but know down inside you shouldn't? Don't give up. Dig down deep for that determination to hang on. Reach out to God for help and strength. Here's what He said:

GODSPEED!