Mental Toughness – Extra Effort

What's the difference between believing in God and trusting God?

A San Antonio business owner named Darryl Lyons got to find out.  

Living in the mid-west at the time, with a pregnant wife, and a young daughter, they experienced several years of business and personal upheaval.  He says he spent these years handling things his own way, through his own personal motto:

Mental toughness, extra effort.

And now, that motto was useless.

At lunch with a mentor one day, God spoke to him through his mentor’s counsel. God said

“Darryl, are you done yet?  Are you done trying to do things out of your own strength?” 

Darryl says he finally understood and submitted to God’s word over his life, and professional plans. He was presented with a unique opportunity, and from the world’s perspective a no-brainer: to go work as a fat cat on Wall Street with a huge salary.  But much prayer and God’s question to him about being done, set him on a path to choose what was best for his family: To stay in San Antonio, and start a family-centered Financial Advisory Group.

Matthew 6: 33 advises us -

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Darryl discovered in his life and work, just how true this passage is.  So how about YOU? Are you just believing IN God, or are you really living as though you TRUST God?

You can still believe in God and still be doing most things from your own knowledge and strength. But TRUSTING God is going ALL IN. It’s putting His plan, His will, His way before ours.

So dear reader, are YOU done yet?

Listen to the iWork4Him interview with Darryl Lyons.

About the Guest Blogger, Caroline Mendez, National Brand Ambassador, iWork4Him

Caroline’s Mission: To raise the visibility of Christian Women in Leadership. She is passionate about empowering each woman she meets to be free from that which keeps them oppressed.

1/12 of the Year is GONE

If you are like me, you find yourself bewildered and perplexed that it is the end of January already.  I mean for crying out loud, where does the time go?  Which makes me ask myself:  

am I making the most of the time that I have? 

I am often reminded that Jesus was busy but never in a hurry.  I’ll bet he’s glad that he wasn’t on the earth during this era of cell phones and the internet! It just seems like this world is crazy busy and so are we.  But Jesus’ example is a great one to follow – do I live life in too big of a hurry?

So…step back and look at your life. Are you spending enough time with the people God has placed in your life?  The people you live with and work with are in your life on purpose. Are you too busy to actually KNOW them?  I confess that I am busy and over committed, but I never want to be in too much of a hurry that I miss the ministry God puts in front of me.

Stop and take time today to smell the fresh air and ask your co-worker to have lunch with you today, or help your neighbor with their yard or shovel their driveway for those of you up north. BE today.  Don’t just exist – BE.  I am working on it.  You try it too.

Proverbs 21:5

If you do find yourself too busy to catch our radio show each day, we have just the thing for you!  Our new iWork4Him PowerPod – subscribe today and catch something new.  

You are loved and appreciated and cherished by our Father.

Jim and I appreciate you too.

About the Author, Martha Brangenberg

Born into an entrepreneurial family, Martha has been involved in small business her entire life. Gifted with an attention to detail and a sweet sensitive spirit, Martha is a servant leader with a deep faith in Jesus.

Generational Angst at Work?

When's the last time your beliefs about another generation were challenged? Ours were recently after interviewing a hip millennial couple whose God-given work is to enable generational reconciliation in the workplace. (click here to listen to the interview)  What on earth is “generational reconciliation”?

It's helping each generation - most often it’s the Baby Boomers {born between 1946 and 1964} and the Millennials {born between1981-1996} really understand and appreciate each other’s attributes.  To shine a light on the hidden beliefs and misbeliefs each side is holding.  To then know the truth about each of the generations and to learn the best attributes of each, so that each person, regardless of age, can be understood, appreciated and leveraged.

What has this got to do with faith in the workplace?  Well, for one thing, as Christ-followers we are called to love and respect everyone. That’s hard to do, if you’re a baby boomer who can’t see beyond the supposed laziness and lack of focus the Millennials in your department have!  Or if you’re a Millennial pushing against the inside-the-box, outdated ways and thinking of the boomers, who just happen to run the company….

Let’s not forget the “bottom line”.  In the next two years Millennials will make up 50% of the workplace. If you run an organization, or manage anyone from this generation, your knowledge of them and how they work, and how well you know and manage them will be a huge predictor of you meeting with success or spiraling down in frustration. 

Here are a couple of experts we’ve interviewed on iWork4Him, that can help with your generational angst in the marketplace:

https://danitabye.com/

http://grantskeldon.com/

http://gabriellebosche.com/

By Caroline Mendez

About the Guest Blogger, Caroline Mendez, National Brand Ambassador, iWork4Him

Caroline’s Mission: To raise the visibility of Christian Women in Leadership. She is passionate about empowering each woman she meets to be free from that which keeps them oppressed.

Business Leaders: Time to Dive into Your Deep Ocean

"I believe that one of the next great moves of God is going to be through the believers in the workplace." ~ Billy Graham

You’ve heard the above quote, but have you really absorbed it? Have you really thought prayerfully about what it has to do with you? If you lead just one other person in the workplace….this is for you…

There is only one person, in all the United States, who has greater spiritual reach and influence on millions of non-believing Americans, than your local church pastor.  And that person, my friend, might be YOU. 

The business CEO (or leader of the company) has 30 HOURS a week of influence with their employees, vs. 30 MINUTES a week from a church pastor.  (See the amazing numbers on the attached graphic from our colleagues at the Monmouth Society)  iWork4Him interview with Chris Conant – Founder of Monmouth Society

That translates into you all (459,000 Christian CEOs + all the management leaders too) having TWO BILLION TWO-HUNDRED NINETY MILLION hours of WEEKLY influence vs. three million, five hundred thousand for a pastor.

Business leaders, you have the awesome responsibility of reaching the eternal souls and changing the eternal futures of 98,000,000 workers. NINETY-EIGHT MILLION souls. What other church leader has such a big flock?  Who else but you, has God entrusted such an enormous responsibility?

Don’t put off this responsibility another day!  There is a terrific way for you to step into your deep ocean this month.  Join us for a:  Marketplace Mission Trip to YOUR workplace!  (2 weeks)  Jan 20 – 31st

That’s right, it is YOUR mission field, so why not treat it that way?  To learn more:  CLICK HERE TO START YOUR JOURNEY!

You and your workplace will never be the same.

By Caroline Mendez

About the Guest Blogger, Caroline Mendez, National Brand Ambassador, iWork4Him

Caroline’s Mission: To raise the visibility of Christian Women in Leadership. She is passionate about empowering each woman she meets to be free from that which keeps them oppressed.

Is Your Business a “For-Profit Ministry”?

Recently, I heard a unique term for a business where the leader is a Christ follower and seeks to serve others with it, in Jesus’s name. The term is credited by Roy Goble, entrepreneur and author of “Salvaged” and “Junkyard Wisdom” to his father. Roy’s father called his business a “for-profit ministry”.

A what?  

That’s what Roy’s dad called their family business, a junkyard in Silicon Valley, of all places.  He had a holistic approach to business and people. Yes, he was a businessman, who was committed to turning a profit so it could provide for his family. AND, He saw it as an opportunity to help people by giving them a job, or using it as a tool, to help anyone who came his way, or onto their property. 

[Hear more about Roy’s story in this quick-hitting #PowerPod HERE]

One of his favorite things to do was to help his employees ensure a way for their children to go to college.  There was an intentionality of bringing Christ with him to the junkyard every day. And as Roy shared with us during an iWork4Him interview, his father’s example set the bar for how HIS work would always include Jesus Christ. Roy said he was not aware there WAS a way to work without his faith being a part of it.

As James 4:17 exhorts us:

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. 

What would it take, for you to transition or shift, your business to a “for-profit ministry” this year?

About the Guest Blogger, Caroline Mendez, National Brand Ambassador, iWork4Him

Caroline’s Mission: To raise the visibility of Christian Women in Leadership. She is passionate about empowering each woman she meets to be free from that which keeps them oppressed.

Thank You

Thank you for letting God work in your life – and letting Him direct you.

Thank you for being an example to others – even when it’s hard.

Thank you for doing your work with excellence – or at least trying to.

Thank you for praying for your co-workers – who doesn’t need extra prayers?

Thank you for hearing others’ stories and allowing them to impact your life.

Thank you for being doers of the Word and not just hearing it.

Thank you for using the gifts, talents, and abilities that God has given you.

Thank you for waking up today ready to serve!

Thank you for choosing to use some of your precious time to listen to iWork4Him.

Thank you for sending encouraging/challenging notes to iWork4Him.

Thank you for your prayers as we pursue God sized plans.

Thank you for your support as we grow to meet more needs.

Phil. 1:3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.

We love you and THANK YOU, Jim and Martha Brangenberg

Relationship – The Greatest Gift

One of the greatest privileges Martha and I have is getting to know people just like you as we travel across the country and  record their stories for interviews.  I wish I had time to write about each person and tell you the amazing things that God is doing through people all over the country (but we do interview them and you can listen to the daily podcasts to hear their stories). 

Let me tell you about a particular ministry called God@Work on www.God.TV/work  that we recently spent time with.

We met Rich Marshall, a few years ago in DC. He has been the host of the God@Work TV show on God.TV for several years.  Rich, and his incredible wife Wilma, gather names and stories of Christ Followers in the workplace and bring them together in Orlando to tape the shows each quarter.  Recently, we were invited to be on the show (Episode #99) and offered to interview each guest to share with you, the iWork4Him audience.   How awesome and inspiring it was to hear from a pharmacist working on a cure for dementia, an evangelist reaching millions in Africa, a professional singer and so many more.  You can check out these stories on the sneak peek page  https://www.iwork4him.com/podcast?category=Sneak-peek

Your story is important, too.

Each day you head off to work, you are entering the largest mission field in the world. This field is FULL of people who are lost and hurting and DESPERATELY need to meet Jesus. You may be their only chance. That is the beauty of relationship. God loves us so much, He sent Jesus to die for us, so we could have relationship with Him and then have loving relationships with others.  You are so important in your job. Please don’t ever think that your job isn’t a ministry. You touch the lives of people every day. They need you there. Please don’t quit.

In 2020, Martha and I will be collecting and sharing at least 263 more stories. Help us to meet those 263 people through your relationships.  Just pop me an email introduction jim@iWork4Him.com.

I am honored that you are reading this and God is honored at your heart and attitude towards bringing your relationship with Him to work.

Jim

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!

We Double Dog Dare You

This time of year do you find yourself at work, just pushing through?

Are you counting the days until Christmas, just to have a break from work? I believe you can turn it around and make these days before Christmas more impactful. Are you willing to try?

What if the answer came from something that didn’t cost you anything? Would you pursue it? Would you want to know what it was? Well, I believe the greatest gift we can give someone is PRAYER. Often it’s the last thing we decide to do, when you feel like there’s nothing left to do, …..then you pray. What if we turn that around and offer prayer NOW.

Give the gift of prayer for your work, your boss, your co-workers, your customers, and vendors and see how this impacts the days before Christmas.

Our recent episode with Love2020 just might help you launch this effort. We dare you, NO – we DOUBLE DOG DARE You to listen and take the challenge (listen on demand)

As we come to the end of the year – remember iWork4Him in your year-end giving and give purpose to work.

About the Author, Martha Brangenberg

Born into an entrepreneurial family, Martha has been involved in small business her entire life. Gifted with an attention to detail and a sweet sensitive spirit, Martha is a servant leader with a deep faith in Jesus.

Christmas Party

Christmas is a great time of year to open the conversation about Christ.

Have you been able to connect the dots for anyone yet at your work between the Season and the Reason? If you have an upcoming party or gathering, remember to pray for opportunities to intentionally turn the topic to Christ.

We attended a very special Christmas party this week with our friends at Integrity Business Referrals in Lakeland, FL. They read their membership pledge at the party and thought I’d share a portion of it and challenge you to internalize these great words:

I am the pastor of my business and my business is my full time ministry. My calling is not a second class calling. I am in partnership with my pastor or priest. I pledge to bring in the harvest, money and souls. As the steward of my business, I hereby dedicate it to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We talk about these ideas often on iWork4Him but I just love how they proclaim these truths every time they meet (even at the Christmas party). You can claim these same truths for your work!

Deuteronomy 8:18

18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

About the Author, Martha Brangenberg

Born into an entrepreneurial family, Martha has been involved in small business her entire life. Gifted with an attention to detail and a sweet sensitive spirit, Martha is a servant leader with a deep faith in Jesus.

Be Ready!

I can’t believe it’s December already!

Is your tree up? Do you decorate your workspace? With Thanksgiving and Christmas to close together this year, many of my friends are well into the Christmas spirit.

Every year I intend to focus more and more on the Coming of Christ and be intentional with my activities, but it’s so easy to let my priorities slip. Does that happen to you?

Our co-workers may consider Christ and the meaning of His birth more now than any other time of the year.

Here’s a few tips to keep the conversation of Christ(mas) top of mind as you work.

Give a meaningful gift in the office gift exchange.

Host a celebration in your home, and decide to include the true Christmas message

When you decorate your work space, include a nativity and be ready to share it’s significance in your life

Invite someone to a Christmas Eve service with you. Someone who doesn’t know Jesus is far more likely to attend a Christmas Eve service than any other service during the year.

Be genuine every day of the year, showing Christ’s love even in the hardest situation.

1 Peter 3:15

15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.

About the Author, Martha Brangenberg

Born into an entrepreneurial family, Martha has been involved in small business her entire life. Gifted with an attention to detail and a sweet sensitive spirit, Martha is a servant leader with a deep faith in Jesus.