All posts tagged: Change

The Great Resignation: Are you ready to quit?

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Do you know anyone who is quitting their job? Are you? There is an epidemic of quitting to do something else, these days. Some people just want out of their job, others want a new job, and many want a new life. I was talking to a relative of mine, a few days ago, and I saw this new trend in his life. He was a manager, in a small city, but then his company downsized and they let him go. They let many of their managers and staff go, so he got a severance package. He is a young man, with a wife and two children, and he never wants to go back to his old job. That business didn’t work for him. Now, he has a new job, and he seems to be busy in it. Possibly his salary went down a bit, but he doesn’t mind. When I visited, he showed me his room for ‘what he loved the most.’ This man loves guitars, and his basement office is now a shop …

Get a new life: Are you ready to start over?

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I am writing this article on the Easter weekend, when Christians remember that Jesus was executed on a cross, and then that He came back from the dead. That’s the biggest restart in history. There are other ways to start over, and the biggest cause that I know is growing older, and reaching retirement age. Life starts over, even when we don’t want change. There’s a line in an old song “I don’t remember growing older.” About the time I reached retirement age, the COVID pandemic arrived. At the time, I was happy to keep working and my employer wanted us to move to a smaller city, where houses are not expensive. That made me happy, and I found a nice little house with a small cost, and I was about to make an offer. Then COVID hit. Who wanted the COVID virus? I remember a day when I went to work, at a client site, and people looked at me like I was crazy. I also noticed that the places where workers spoke to …

Radical Disruption: Your life is about to change.

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How are you doing this year? Did you see all these changes coming, in 2020? I didn’t. It’s clear to all of us that things are still changing. Everyone I know does not like the restrictions with the COVID pandemic, and we wonder when things will be normal again. That will be never. Disruption to our lives, and the cost of coping with COVID restrictions is forcing businesses, employers, to close; and they might never re-open. The world has changed forever. READ: Covid-19 will permanently change the world’s economy So, what does that mean to us? What happens when my life changes, and keeps changing? What will happen to you? This is not an abstract economic theory, this is a permanent change to the way we live, and it has already happened. Soon we will see and feel the effects. I work at a job that I really enjoy, and in a few days it will all be over. I can’t tell you what it is until the work has stopped because I work under …

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Watch our world as it changes

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Social Media, including You Tube and Facebook, and many more new offerings, is a big part of life today. For most of us, it’s a huge part of life. The Internet has changed the world everywhere. I remember bulky computers on desk tops, and now we have phones in our pockets. I also remember life before the Internet, when phones had dials, and we talked on them; we only talked on them. We live in a time when old things pass away quickly, and new things emerge and dominate the world. God has promised to shake this world, and it’s easy to see how that could happen. We can’t keep what we have. “Now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken; that is, created things.” (Hebrews 12: 26 and 27)

Constantly Changing

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This life we are living is changing almost daily. Change can be exciting but constant change is tough to digest. We need some constants in our lives to give us a sense of normalcy and security.  Here is my list of constants that are still around. Taxes.  No surprise here. Especially now that many governments are generous with their programs.  The money comes from taxes. There are always at least two people with their hands in your pockets. A politician and a pastor. One wants money for this life and the other wants money for the next life. Either way, take comfort in the fact that you get to continue paying taxes.  Politics. This may be a bit more aggressive and violent than what some of us are used to, but political differences have been around a long time.  In some cultures, violence and politics go hand in hand. It seems people have never totally agreed on how to do things let alone what is important. And it doesn’t appear that politics will go away …

Does Anyone Care About Jesus Anymore?

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I am a Christian, but lately, I have noticed that no one wants to talk about that. I can talk with other Christians about our beliefs, but people who don’t believe don’t seem to care. When I just mention that I believe in Jesus, I get an awkward silence, and then the other person changes the subject, or leaves. So, does anyone out there care about Jesus anymore? Probably not many, but the question is wrong. Does anyone do anything for more than a week? You might know the name Alvin Toffler, the author who wrote a famous book “Future Shock.” The book was published about fifty years ago, which makes him a futurist from the past. He predicted that the pace of change would accelerate; change would come on us so fast we wouldn’t be able to cope with it. RELATED: Future Shock: Wikipedia  In the Bible, the mark of a successful prophet, or religious futurist, was if the predictions came true: “You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message …

New York City Times Square Photo: Jack Siah/Flickr/Creative Commons

CEO Jesus: Disrupt Everything

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Jesus was the head of an organization, the CEO of a corporation. He made a carefully defined organization with a clear business plan. We easily forget today, that Jesus the CEO still has a purpose, and a direction, and a final goal. But first let me tell you why I am not rich. At least one reason can be blamed on other people. My father has told me stories about a manufacturing business owned by some of his old relatives, more than a hundred years ago, the “McIntosh Munro Carriage Company.” These craftsmen made high quality vehicles that were powered by horses, and the owners were related to my father, who is 93 years old, as I write this. If you have one of those carriages in good condition now, it might be worth a fortune. Not far away from my father’s family was another company, owned by a man named Henry Ford, and I am not related to Henry Ford. You would probably never know about the carriage company, if I didn’t tell you, …

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The dance of the butterfly

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As much as I struggled and fought with winter this year, I have learned that it is just as important as all the other seasons. To be honest, I felt trapped this winter. It’s been hard and I found the days long and the shortage of sun emotionally draining. One day my mood was up (the sun was out) and the next day it would be down (cloudy skies). I missed my flowers and the sunshine. Through this I was reminded of the butterfly and its various stage of cocooning. Some refer to the butterfly’s incubation time as a “holding space” where it completes its remarkable transformation from a caterpillar to a butterfly. The Bible talks about a similar “holding space” for Christians: “Cease striving and know that I am God. ” (Psalm 46:10) I can picture the caterpillar becoming frustrated by the lack of light as the layers slowly envelope its tiny form.  But, it needs to surrender to the cocooning and its time of incubation. I am beginning to understand that this cocooning …

Coniston, England Credit: Rich Bambford/Flickr/Creative Commons

The ‘new’ normal

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The stun gun effect that I have been feeling these past few months had a lot  to do with the lack of sunshine this winter and not being able to get outside as much.  I miss my flowers and sun! Feeling uncomfortable in my body, sluggish and unmotivated forced me to stretch myself outside my comfort zone physically. I signed up for a couple of exercise classes and started walking in the malls with my husband because walking outside in the cold, snow and ice wasn’t an option. Movement became key and the more I stretched and moved my body beyond its limitations the better I felt. It has also felt like an incubation time where thoughts and feelings, unpleasant and pleasant, have rolled around inside me allowing the real root of the emotions and thoughts to surface. Even Jesus learned through times of struggle. “Although He was a Son, He learned (active, special) obedience through what he suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8) I exercised my mind and dove deep into my thoughts and emotions. They were …

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A Woman’s Perspective: Change

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[by Linda Wilson] When everything is changing, it feels like shifting ground beneath my feet. I have felt this many times and I’m sure I will feel it again. After all things change: people move on, children grow up, careers end. The list is unending really. Change is inevitable, whether I like it or not. I went through a season of change this past summer and fall. Firstly, I was dealing with some health issues and reduced work hours. Also, in October my daughter had surgery and my husband had some medical tests, both on the same day. But the biggest change came when my son moved away for work after graduating from university.

Thick-headed Christians?

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If someone calls you thick-headed because of your Christian beliefs, agree with them. It’s not only Biblical as Jesus tells us to agree quickly with our adversary (Mathew 5:25) , but it’s also true. And, it’s not a bad thing. Myrna Weissman — a professor of psychiatry and epidemiology at Columbia University in the U.S. — said her research shows people of faith have a thicker cortex compared to those who are not.