Deuteronomy 1:6  The LORD our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain.

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There comes a time to stop stewing and start doing. 

John Maxwell produced monthly leadership lessons for years. They came on cassette tapes back in the day. Then he switched to CDs. One of them bore the catchy title in the first sentence above. He taught us how to Stop Stewing and Start Doing. 

Forty years after leaving Egypt by walking through the sea on dry ground, it was time to take another stroll, this time through the dry bed of a river at flood stage. Their first exit led to freedom from slavery. This exit from the wilderness would lead to a place to call home. No more moving from campground to campground. No more carrying everything you own on your back. 

Each of us needs time to assess our best next steps from time to time. Three men are coming to our office in the next few weeks seeking clarity regarding their future. Each has a good understanding of who they are and what they should do. However, each one also wants to focus on gaining the kind of clarity that provides the simplicity of the One Thing they must do in God’s strength and under his direction. 

Focus expands, as my friend Will Mancini likes to say. Of all the things we can do, what is the One Thing we must do? How will focusing on the One Thing amplify our lives? How will it maximize our productivity and effectiveness in extending God’s kingdom?

As we toddle on toward the end of the first quarter of this year, take a look back at what you planned to happen this year. How much closer to your goal are you? What positive progress have you made? As you prepare for the second quarter, your next season of success, how will you proceed with purpose? 

Two days of refocusing empowers us to see more clearly and to perform more purposefully. When will you take time to look back, to look forward, and to cross the boundary leading into God’s best for this season? 

When we do not take time to plan, we tend to go through the motions and do the same things the same way day after day without making the kind of progress we would prefer. When we do not take time to plan, we tend to think of Someday. We even place a category in our planning software called Someday Maybe. Let’s be honest, this is where dreams go to die. 

We stop stewing and start doing when we develop a plan with appropriate action steps aligned with God’s direction and empowered by his Spirit. This plan requires weekly review and daily execution. This plan is not a burden of endless tasks and to-dos. This plan is eternal purpose combined with daily intention and more joy than we considered possible. 

Today is a good day to stop stewing and to start focusing on God’s One Thing for your life and the wonderful adventures it makes possible.

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I will pause to plan and live every glorious moment of life with purpose.

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Our Father, you created me for a reason. You planned what you want to accomplish through my life long before you formed me in my mother’s womb. Since I am still here, you have a purpose for me. I want to know that purpose with greater clarity. I want to live that purpose with greater intention. I want to experience the joy of the journey with you in all things, through all things, until the end of all things. Amen.