Look For God’s Hand In Everything
There are many different ways that you could take the title of this, Look For God’s Hand In Everything!
One way would be to look at how God created this entire world.
Another way might be to look at how God is involved in your life by the events that are happening. Yes, that includes the ones that you don’t LOVE.
Another way might be to look at the inspiration and genius that he gives people to build and design the things they do.
And those are just 3 big picture ways of looking for God’s hand in everything.
When I originally wrote this as one of the 7 secrets to keeping God close in your life my mind went to a trip to the Grand Canyon with our family.
Then it immediately bounced to flying across the country regularly for the past decade of my life.
Then it changed to our business and our clients.
Then it swapped over to technology.
Then to networking and the relationships that God has given me.
Then the courage he gave us to do what we do and share what we share.
I could go on and on for a while.
But.
I won’t bore you with how crazy my brain works and how much it jumps around.
Would it be alright if I told you about the first time we went to the Grand Canyon as a family?
Sweet thanks!
Let’s see.
We had just made a trip to San Diego, then up to DisneyLand, and now we were on our way home.
It had been a while since we had been to the grand canyon (over a decade since I was there last) so we decided that we wanted to share God’s creation with our family.
But we did have some fears that had to be addressed first.
I mean Jacob was 2 years old! Brianna was 4! Nathen was 6! And Billy was 8!
At 2 Jacob was a GREAT listener when he wanted to. Lol
Brianna was really well behaved and was very mindful of her parents unless one of her brothers was picking on her.
Nathen, well Nathen was and is still Nathen. He is an amazing person who is so kind and loving, but Nathen kind of lives in his own world and has an amazing imagination. But he listened very well.
Billy was and is scared to DEATH of heights. So we weren’t really worried about him getting too close and falling over the edge!
That was our biggest fear. Our kids playing and not paying attention and then falling over the edge.
We had lots of talks with them as we drove from LA to the Grand Canyon.
Then when we got there they all listened really well. Jenna and I were SHOCKED!!!
What shocked us the most was the words that came out of Nathen’s mouth when he first saw the canyon.
WOW, God really did a GREAT job on this! Don’t you think so Dad?
All of our kids saw God’s hand in the design of the canyon.
Now I KNOW that someone out there is saying, hey that canyon was made from erosions over millions of years.
My response to that comes from the words my Grandpa Phelps taught me so long ago, Hucky Pucky! God made that canyon when he designed the world. now he continues to design every single day with the weather he sends to his world.
But no matter what I KNOW in my heart God designed this world!
The terrain of the earth is just one place that God’s hands are though.
I think about the struggles I went through not getting jobs that I would have been a PERFECT fit for.
God KNEW that I needed something different, so his had was at play in me NOT getting those jobs.
He also knew that we were supposed to encounter issues bringing Gary Chapman to Durango. And he gave us the passion to not stop. Even when the odds were stacked against us. Even when others we trusted did hold up their end of the deal.
He used that situation to help us and others learn different lessons from the exact same events!
How amazing is that?
God can use the same situation or event to teach not only us but others too!!!
Talk about the best leader ever.
God’s hand IS in EVERYTHING!
The sooner you see that the easier it will be to let go and give him full control of everything.
Take Action
Today I want you to pause for 3 minutes. Set a timer on your phone, the microwave, the oven, or your computer.
I don’t care what you use.
Set a timer and take those 3 minutes to ponder every way that God is in your life.
As soon as you see one, I want you to say, THANK YOU, GOD for _________!
What are you waiting for, DO IT NOW!
Prayer
Lord, today we come with hearts full of joy. We are so grateful for everything that you have ever and will ever do for us. We are grateful for the world that you designed. We are grateful for the wisdom, or lack of wisdom that we sometimes have. We know that you are working through us every single moment of our lives. As long as we allow you to.
God, today I would like to ask one small favor. OK, maybe it’s a BIG one. God, I pray that you would open our eyes, minds, hearts, and whole bodies up to you. Help us to see how you are working in and on our lives. Help us to step out of the situation we are currently in and see that you have a BIGGER plan than ever thought possible.
God, you know what is best for us, help us to see you in EVERYTHING!
We ask all these things in your precious Son’s name.
Amen.
A Little More
Something that no one ever told me before I started this journey of being an entrepreneur is just how much I would work.
I mean to tell you; I get about 4-4:30 almost every morning and get right to it.
Then I pause when everyone else gets up and spends a little time with them. After that I get back at it until late in the afternoon. I pause again to spend time with my family (the really important thing in life.) then I do a little more before I head off to bed.
Not only that but how much faster my mind moves than it used to.
I remember when I was working for others, I would wake up thinking about breakfast. Grab a lunch to take with me and head out the door.
During the day I would think about some issues that were going on in my life. Maybe daydream a little about where I wanted to take the family.
In the evening I would tune into a TV show after dinner and spend some time thinking about what my kids were going to do when they grew up.
My thoughts were nothing like they are now.
Now I wake up with thoughts about how to improve the business. How to stay closer to God, how to provide for not only my family but also the families of those who work with us.
My wheel also spins on what I need to get done today and the rest of this week.
A little fear trickles in that I forgot something important. And also fear if I have upset any of our clients.
And all of that happens before I grab a cup of coffee.
Now my mind never stops.
The other day one of my guys, Sam, was with me for a meeting with some new clients that we just signed on.
Sam and I have been working together for a little over a year. So we know each other pretty well.
After the meeting, we spent a little time chatting about a few things.
Then before I left he looked at me and said, How do you do it?
Do what? I replied.
How do you keep your brain from exploding? I could see your wheels turning the entire time we were in the meeting. And as soon as they left you got your phone out and started taking notes like a mad man for 3-5 minutes. Your brain must work about 1 million times more than mine does!
First off, my brain is not FAST. If anything, it is slower than molasses in the dead of winter, in Alaska! Now that’s slow. Lol
He just memorized the ideas that we came up with from one little meeting and how we could change the way we deal with clients to better serve them.
He was also shocked at the amount of action we took the next day after the meeting to start making these changes.
Being an entrepreneur or business owner is not about how to make a TON of $$$$.
It is 1000% about how to serve your tribe better tomorrow than you did today.
So many people don’t get that.
All they want is to build a business and sell it for piles of MONEY so they can be rich!
That is not a REAL entrepreneur.
In my opinion, an entrepreneur is someone who takes personal responsibility for a problem and does everything in their power to make an easier solution for others to use.
No one ever told me just how much I would LOVE giving back to our clients.
Recently we have been giving custom hand-drawn pictures that we get printed on a canvas to our clients.
I have gotten so much joy out of giving these pictures away.
Another thing is how much joy I would get by helping others to grow and giving them an amazing opportunity to learn new things.
Being a leader is HARD. And having to make sure that there is enough $$$ in the back for payroll can be a little stressful at times.
But the joy I personally get from having an amazing team to work with is worth every ounce of stress that I have.
There is someone out there right now saying, You just like telling others what to do!
The truth is that I hate telling others what to do.
I LOVE asking them for help with a new project and then watching them work through the situation.
We are full of fear the first time we do anything for the first time.
But the joy it brings me to watch someone who just navigated something new and scary is amazing. Their newfound confidence is unrivaled.
Here is the moral to this whole story.
When you get the feeling to do something, DO IT NOW!
Don’t hesitate.
The rewards are 100X what the pain is.
And Pain is short for
P – Pleasure
A – After
I – Initial
N – Nightmare