Thursday, June 18, 2009




Today's daily mug shot is art in a cup...love that, I've been pouring and sketching with syrup lately...chocolate, raspberry & milk atop Moon Monkey Coffee you almost can't go wrong with that combination. Headed to the coffee lab today after the Shine.FM studios...putting smiles on more raving fans! Decided not to roast in the midst of tornado's last night!
Reading a new book today: "Just Do Something" a liberating approach to finding God's Will OR
"How to make a decsion without dreams, visions, fleeces, impressions, open doors, random bible verses, casting lots, liver shivers, wrting in the sky, etc. by Kevin Deyoung. I'm stuck on page 15...combined with quote from Ben Arment yesterday....I'm wrecked, the coffee lab is the perfect place for me.
"Second, our search for the will of God has become an accomplice in the postponement of growing up, a convenient out for the young (or old) Christian floating through life without direction or purpose. Too many of us have passed off our instability, inconsistency, and endless self-exploration as "looking for God's will, as if not making up our minds and meandering through life were marks of spiritual sensitivity.
As a result, we are full of passivity adn empty on follow-through. We're tinkering around with everyone and everything. Instead, when it comes to our future, we should take some responsibility, make a decision, and just do something.

Followed by Ben Arment, "God uses social forces to propel the Gospel ... and multitude making is a social phenomenon not a spiritual one and if we overlook the truth , we do stupid things in the name of faith.

Yikes, I needed that...Note to self: Don't be stupid!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Zig's Hero At the Foot of a giant



I realized then that I had not been standing at the bedside of a fragile girl; I had been standing at the foot of a giant.

As I always do ...I ended the day how I began by reading and reflecting....my face is still wet from this post fromhttp://tomziglar.com/2009/06/17/amy-jones-at-the-foot-of-a-giant/ I have copied it as a reminder to myself of the impact our lives have on others. At the foot of a giant.

At the Foot of a Giant
I will warn you upfront that this is a very difficult post for me to write. My good friend Amy Jones is at the end of her fight against cancer. Sunday night we went to say goodbye. Life is hard.
Sitting in the waiting room, talking to Amy’s friends and family, brought back so many memories. Just about eight years ago Amy showed up at our company. All 108 petite pounds of Amy filled the room as her smile and laugh lifted everyone around her. She led us in a devotional meeting and shared how she was overcoming several tragedies in her life through God’s grace and love. We all fell in love with Amy that day.
As usual, Dad was sitting in the devotions room on the first row, taking notes. When Amy was done he hugged her and said she needed to be a speaker, and then he called Peter Lowe and got her on the Get Motivated Seminar! Amy’s first speech was on the big stage in front of thousands. We always teased Amy that she was given 22 minutes to talk about time management, and she took 38 minutes to give the talk!

Amy and Zig
Soon Amy became a fixture around our company. Christmas time with Amy is special. She starts shopping the day after Christmas for the next one, and if you are on her list it’s likely you will get not 1, not 2, not 3, but multiple gifts that are perfect for you. Best of all, each gift is a reflection of how much and how often Amy is thinking of you because they are seldom bought at the same time. That’s just Amy. Another thing that is just Amy is that somehow she finds all of the perfect gifts for less money than any single gift you find for her!
As Amy’s speaking career was growing she came on board full time at Ziglar to spearhead a new program called Ziglar VIP. Amy led this charge and overcame many challenges to make Ziglar VIP one of our most successful programs ever. Without Amy this program would not exist, and our company would look much different today. Amy was our secret weapon – “Send Amy,” we would say – you fall in love with Amy when you meet her, and through that love you have a chance to work through the objections and the needs of the client. For Amy life is about relationships, so talking to people about what you believe in is really just about loving them and understanding their needs. Amy keeps things Pure and Simple – I love that about Amy

A couple of years ago we started to reorganize the company and I created for Amy what I thought was the perfect role for her. She would continue to lead the Ziglar VIP charge, but she would be more commission-based. I was excited about my plan – I just knew Amy was about to get rich! When we met with Amy, everybody was excited about the plan – but Amy! With grace and love and after a great deal of prayer, Amy came back to me and said this was not the plan for her. Instead, she moved back into an Independent Contractor role as a speaker for us. And she started her ministry.
Amy and a couple of her friends started a ministry called the Journey of Sisters. The Sisters are a group of women who have overcome incredible tragedies of all types in their lives. Amy became the leader, organizing events at homeless shelters and battered women’s’ shelters. More importantly, Amy became the mentor and coach for the other Sisters. Now there are 14 women in the Journey of Sisters, every one of them touched by Amy.


Last year we were doing a book with Mac Anderson, the founder of Simple Truths and Successories. I mentioned to Mac that I knew this lady named Amy Jones, and she would be perfect to do a book on time management. I set up the call for Amy and Mac, smiling to myself that it was a “done deal,” because when you meet Amy you fall in love with her. That book, titled How to Do Twice as Much in Half the Time, came out six weeks ago. Little did we know how prophetic that title would be.
In March this year Amy was speaking at a Get Motivated Seminar in Lubbock, Texas. She was accidentally knocked down on stage. Several days later, her side hurting and with a fever, she went to the doctor. What she thought was a bad bruise from the fall ended up being a tumor the size of a grapefruit. Ten years to the day that her dad died from kidney cancer, Amy was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive Stage 4 kidney cancer.
As I sat in the waiting room Sunday night reflecting on all of this, Amy continued to fill the room with her love and grace. The doctors had given her an incredible amount of pain killers and stimulants so that she would be able to say goodbye. For well over an hour, Amy spoke God’s love into the lives of the 14 Sisters as they gathered around her bed. She told each one of them the strengths that they possessed and she gave each one of them a charge that was unique to them to carry forward the ministry.

Then it was our turn to see Amy. She told us how much she loved us, and she told Dad what an impact he had on her. We held hands and talked. I teased her, as is my custom, and said “Amy, 12 disciples was good enough for Jesus, but you needed 14!” She smiled. Somehow, on this incredibly hard day, on this incredibly tough journey, Amy filled everyone with hope and love. Nothing about the goodbye was about Amy, Amy made it about everyone else. Her peace was perfect and her words were pure.

One of the most difficult things for me these last few months has been how “unfair” this has been. Amy is good, pure, sweet, even fragile in all of the right ways. She is someone you want to protect, someone you want to take the place for. She reminds you of Christ, who paid the ultimate price for all of us — pure, innocent, and loving. On the way out of her room her mother told me, “After everyone leaves tonight they are going to increase her pain medication so that she will no longer suffer. This will allow her to sleep, and when she wakes up, she will be with Jesus.”

I realized then that I had not been standing at the bedside of a fragile girl; I had been standing at the foot of a giant.

Daily Mug Shot

Today's daily mug shot is art in a cup...love that, I've been pouring and sketching with syrup lately...chocolate, raspberry & milk atop Moon Monkey Coffee you almost can't go wrong with that combination. Headed to the coffee lab today after the Shine.FM studios...putting smiles on more raving fans! Decided not to roast in the midst of tornado's last night!
Reading a new book today: "Just Do Something" a liberating approach to finding God's Will OR
"How to make a decsion without dreams, visions, fleeces, impressions, open doors, random bible verses, casting lots, liver shivers, wrting in the sky, etc. by Kevin Deyoung. I'm stuck on page 15...combined with quote from Ben Arment yesterday....I'm wrecked, the coffee lab is the perfect place for me.
"Second, our search for the will of God has become an accomplice in the postponement of growing up, a convenient out for the young (or old) Christian floating through life without direction or purpose. Too many of us have passed off our instability, inconsistency, and endless self-exploration as "looking for God's will, as if not making up our minds and meandering through life were marks of spiritual sensitivity.
As a result, we are full of passivity adn empty on follow-through. We're tinkering around with everyone and everything. Instead, when it comes to our future, we should take some responsibility, make a decision, and just do something.

Followed by Ben Arment, "God uses social forces to propel the Gospel ... and multitude making is a social phenomenon not a spiritual one and if we overlook the truth , we do stupid things in the name of faith.

Yikes, I needed that...Note to self: Don't be stupid!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Coffee and Milk Daily Mug Shot


Coffee and Milk
Originally uploaded by Chaval Brasil
Good Morning Moon Monkey Junkies~
Love the red in this mug shot...also the milk right on the top...talk about timing! Reflecting over a press of Sumatra this morning and recovering from reflections taken in from just two articles featured in May/June Issue of Collide Magazine. Speaking of Milk "Holy Cow" here are just a few quotes as I was reading back to front....

"God uses Social forces to propel the Gospel" & ..."Multitude making is a social phenomenon, not a spiritual one. And if we overlook that truth, we do stupid things in teh name of faith" Ben Arment

"Unless your consider that we treat one another with the same level of irrational assessment. In the Christian community, there's an awful lot of judging unfinished people as if they were the final product" Mark Steele

heavy stuff....to ponder in the coffee lab today....as I roast. So glad for me coffee is an art & www.shine.fm is the platform in my life. I will add more margin today...give me eyes to see everyone as ART a work in progress!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Daily Mug Shot

Good Morning Moon Monkey Junkies...today's daily mug shot is in honor of my first born, Ryan....today is his 16th Birthday! This picture is from the weekend...we celebrated with a concert @ Soldier Field. Feeling a little misty-eyed, can't believe he's 16...love that boy! my greatest challenge, next to following the Lord and one of my greatest joys in this life cowboy hat and all!

Reflecting over a week of amazing insight...here/hear are just few from Twitter.
@charityideas "The thing that lies at the foundation of positive change is service to fellow human beings "Lee Ioccocca

@Perry Noble Praying I always lead from conviction & not convenience.
@David Foster Your choice to advance the good or defend the status quo one is cowardice one is couregeous.

Make today a Masterpiece, lean in, build margin and connect with those in your phyiscal space.

From Seth Godin's blog today You matter
When you love the work you do and the people you do it with, you matter.

When you are so gracious and generous and aware that you think of other people before yourself, you matter.

When you leave the world a better place than you found it, you matter.

When you continue to raise the bar on what you do and how you do it, you matter.

When you teach and forgive and teach more before you rush to judge and demean, you matter.

When you touch the people in your life through your actions (and your words), you matter.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/06/you-matter.html