The Law of Reaping and Sowing by Dani Johnson

The Daily Fix

What's In A Name? EVERYTHING!

Hey Friend, 

I'm writing to you from somewhere in the North Sea. Something really interesting happened today, and I have to share it with you.

At dinner the first night on the ship, we met the wait staff we will be seeing for the next 11 days. Two hours later, the kids and I were playing cards in the middle of a common area, and we happened to see one of the staff there. He remembered our names right away! We'd had a two-minute conversation two hours earlier, but he remembered and called me by my name.

Friend, how does it make you feel when people remember your name? It makes you feel honored, doesn't it?

Obviously, whoever owns this vessel has made it a point to make sure their staff knows the names of the people on this ship. They know the names of the people who are providing jobs for them. Did you catch that? Without the customer, there is no job!

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I also noticed this a few weeks ago when Hans and I were in Turkey and Greece. We were on that vessel for 2 weeks, and there were several staff members who knew our names within a day. Every single time we passed by any of them, they called us by our first names.

Friend, use that today in your career! Learn people's names! Memorize their names and use them! Even when you are on the phone with a customer service representative or booking a plane ticket, write down the person's name.

That's important on so many levels. It makes the person feel like they're making a new friend over the phone. When you make a friend on the phone, you may get better service. And why? Because you made them feel special and important.

This has happened to so many of my clients who have used the techniques we teach in Unlimited Success. In fact, several of them have actually gotten free services and huge discounts by using the strategies they learned there.

One of those very simple strategies includes remembering people's names. Every time you encounter another human being, memorize their name!

You may be thinking right now, "But Dani, I'm TERRIBLE with names! I'm not good at remembering names."

Friend, it's because you're thinking too much about yourself. You're thinking too much about your interests instead of being genuinely interested in the other person. So whether it's a customer or a stranger at the grocery store, it's important to practice remembering people's names.

To help you remember, have them say their name twice. Ask them to spell it for you, or ask if they were named after someone. If you get them to talk about their name, you will remember it! You'll find something that sticks in your brain to help you remember.

If you deliberately use people's names, you're going to receive elite service from other people. You're going to make people feel special and important, and they are going to remember you — all because you remembered their name.

People LOVE to hear their own names. They feel a special kinship when someone else knows their name. It honors and lifts their spirit. It makes them feel set apart from everyone else. And it causes them to think differently about you. This is the law of reaping and sowing.

It's something we have used in business, as well as our casual, everyday life. I encourage you to use that strategy today!

This is such a powerful, simple tool that can really impact you, your friends, family and co-workers! Share this message with them today via email or social media!

I'll talk to you this Sunday night on The Dani Johnson Show! Tune in on your radio or TV, and start your week off right! Check out the sidebar for the details.

Watch your inbox tomorrow for another message from somewhere else in the world!

In great faith,

 

YES it's important

Children of God

What matters to you—matters to God! You probably think that’s true when it comes to the big stuff; the major-league difficulties like disease, death, sin, and disaster—you know that God cares. But what about the smaller things? What about grouchy bosses or flat tires or lost dogs? What about late flights, toothaches, or a crashed computer? Do those matter to God?

God’s got wars to worry about and famines to fix. Who am I, we say, to tell Him about my troubles? I’m glad you asked. The answer is found in I John 3:1. “The Father has loved us so much that we are called children of God. And we really are His children.” I love that last phrase. “We really are His children.”

John added that phrase for you. We really are His children! If something is important to you, it’s important to God!

from He Still Moves Stone

Story of GOD

What Do You Want?

I like the story about the fellow who went to the pet store for a singing parakeet. The store owner had just the bird and the next day the man came home to a house full of music. When he went to feed the bird he noticed for the first time, the parakeet had only one leg. He called the store and complained. “What do you want,” the store owner responded, “a bird who can sing or a bird who can dance?”

Good question for times of disappointment. What do we want? It’s what Jesus asked the disciples when they complained. And in Luke 24:27, Jesus began to tell them the story of God’s plan for people, “starting with Moses and all the prophets, and everything that had been written about Himself in the Scriptures.” Jesus’ cure for the broken heart is the story of God. So what do you want? If you’re disappointed, turn to the story of God. He’s still in control!

from He Stills Moves Stones

HE knows

A Reason to Sit Tight

God knows more about life than we do! And aren’t we glad He does? Be honest. Are we glad He says “no” to what we want and “yes” to what we need? Not always. If we ask for a new marriage, and He says honor the one you’ve got, we aren’t happy. If we ask for healing, and He says learn through the pain, we aren’t happy.

When God doesn’t do what we want, it’s not easy. Never has been. Never will be. But faith is the conviction that God knows more than we do about this life and He will get us through it. We need to hear that God is in control. We need to hear it is not over until He says so. We need to hear life’s mishaps and tragedies are not a reason to bail out. They are simply a reason to—sit tight!

from He Still Moves Stones

Can't do what you won't TRY

Follow God’s Impulses

What Annie Dillard says about writing in her book, “The Writing Life,” is true about all of life: “Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.”

There is a wonder to life. Pursue it. Hunt for it. Don’t listen to the whines of those who’ve settled for a second-rate life and want you to do the same so they won’t feel guilty. Your goal is not to live long…it’s to live!

You can’t be criticized for what you don’t try, right? You can’t lose your balance if you never climb, right? So, take the safe route. Or. . . you can follow God’s impulses. He says, “Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it.” Time slips. Days pass. Years fade. Life ends. And what we came to do must be done while there is time!

from He Still Moves Stones

Pursue

God’s Adventure
What is it about birthdays that causes us to quiver so? Certainly part of the problem is the mirror. Time may be a great healer, but it’s a lousy beautician. But the real pain is deeper. Sometimes a dream-come-true-world has come true and it’s less than you’d hoped. Regret becomes a major pastime.

Luke 17:33 says, “Whoever tries to keep his life safe will lose it, and the one who’s prepared to lose his life will preserve it.” “There are two ways to view life,” Jesus is saying, “those who protect it or those who pursue it. The wisest are not the ones with the most years in their lives, but the most life in their years.”

You can take the safe route. Or you can hear the voice of adventure—God’s adventure. Adopt the child. Teach the class. Change careers. Make a difference. Sure it isn’t safe, but what is?

from He Still Moves Stones

DO. GO. PRAY. TEACH.

Take a Step

Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. Faith is the belief that God will do what is right. My translation of the first few verses of Matthew, Chapter 5 say, “Blessed are the dirt-poor, nothing-to-give, trapped-in-a-corner, destitute, diseased,” and Jesus said, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

God says the more hopeless your circumstance, the more likely your salvation. The greater your cares, the more genuine your prayers. Healing begins when we depend on Him. God’s help is near and always available, but it’s only given to those who seek it. Compared to God’s part, our part is minuscule but necessary.

Ask forgiveness. Call a counselor. Confess. Call mom. Visit a doctor. Feed a hungry person. Pray. Teach. Go. Do something that demonstrates faith. For faith with no effort is no faith at all. God will respond. He has never rejected a genuine gesture of faith. Never!

from He Still Moves Stones

Your AGENDA

It’s easy to forget who’s the servant and who’s to be served. The tool of distortion is one of Satan’s slyest. When the focus is on yourself, you worry that your co-workers won’t appreciate you. Your leaders will overwork you. With time, your agenda becomes more important than God’s. You’re more concerned with presenting self than pleasing Him. You may even find yourself doubting God’s judgment.

Remember Mary criticizing her sister Martha, “Lord don’t you care that my sister has left me alone to do all the work? Tell her to help me.” (Luke 40:10) What had Mary chosen? She’d chosen to sit at the feet of Christ. God is more pleased with the quiet attention of a sincere servant than the noisy service of a sour one!

Guard your attitude. If you concern yourself with your neighbor’s talents, you’ll neglect your own. But if you concern yourself with yours, you could inspire both!

from He Still Moves Stones

YOU choose

Your Place at God’s Table

Angry. Sullen. Accusatory. Whiny. Put them all together in one word and spell it b-i-t-t-e-r. If you put them all in one person, that person’s in the pit, the dungeon of bitterness. The dungeon calls you to enter. You can, you know. You’ve experienced enough hurt. You’ve been betrayed enough times. You can choose, like many, to chain yourself to your hurt.

Or you can choose, like some, to put away your hurts. You can choose to go to the party. You have a place there. If you’re a child of God, no one can take away your sonship. Which is precisely what the father said to his prodigal son in Luke 15. “You are always with me; all that I have is yours.”

What you have is more important than what you don’t have, and that is, your relationship with God the Father! Your place at God’s table is permanent!

from He Still Moves Stones

Listen UP

Not Guilty

Sometimes shame is private. Pushed over the edge by an abusive spouse. Molested by a perverted parent. Seduced by a compromising superior. No one else knows. But you know. And that’s enough. Sometimes shame is public. Branded by a divorce you didn’t want. Contaminated by a disease you never expected. Whether private or public, shame is always painful. And unless you deal with it, it’s permanent.

In John 8:11 Jesus confronts the woman who’d formerly been caught in the act of adultery. When the crowd would have stoned her, Jesus speaks: “Anyone here who has never sinned can throw the first stone at her.” As all turned to leave, Jesus said, “I also don’t judge you guilty. You may go now, but don’t sin anymore.”

Jesus’ message is written not with His hand, but with His blood. On a cross. Let Him stand beside you. Listen carefully. He’s speaking. “Not guilty!”

from He Still Moves Stones

ALL the days of my life

Goodness and Mercy

Our moods may shift, but God’s doesn’t. Our minds may change, but God’s doesn’t. Our devotion may falter, but God’s never does. God is faithful, for He cannot betray Himself. He is a sure God. And because He is, we can state confidently what David exclaimed in his 23rd Psalm: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”

What are those words that follow the word surely? “Goodness and mercy.” If the Lord is the shepherd who leads the flock, goodness and mercy are the two sheepdogs that guard the rear of the flock! Goodness AND mercy. Not goodness alone, for we are sinners in need of mercy. Not mercy alone, for we are fragile, in need of goodness. We need them both. Goodness and mercy—the celestial escort of God’s flock. If that duo doesn’t reinforce your faith, try this phrase: “all the days of my life!”

Overflowing CUP

A Place at God’s Table

God gives hope! So what if someone was born thinner or stronger? Why count diplomas or compare resumes? What does it matter if they have a place at the head table? You have a place at God’s table—and He’s filling your cup to overflowing!

The overflowing cup was a powerful symbol in the days of David. As long as the host kept the cup full, the guest knew he was welcome. When the cup sat empty, the host was hinting that the hour was late. On those occasions when the host really enjoyed the company of the person, he filled the cup to overflowing; he kept pouring until the liquid ran over the edge of the cup and down on the table.

Have you noticed how wet your table is? God wants you to stay. Your cup overflows with joy. Overflows with grace. Shouldn’t your heart overflow with gratitude?

from Traveling Light

Here’s another free resource from MaxLucado.com! Your Place at God’s Table

Your cup overflows with Grace

Overflowing with Grace

Do you ever worry that the cup of God’s mercy will run empty? Are you afraid his grace will run out? That your warranty will expire? Are you afraid your mistakes are too great for God’s forgiveness? I wonder if the apostle Paul had the same fear. Before he was Paul the apostle, he was Saul the murderer. Before he encouraged Christians, he murdered Christians. What would it be like to live with that kind of past?

Did Paul ever ask, “Can God forgive a man like me?” The answer is found in a letter Paul wrote to Timothy: “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” (I Timothy 1:14)

God is not a miser with His grace. Your cup may be low on cash or clout, but it’s overflowing with mercy. Your cup overflows with grace!

from Traveling Light

Worth a try?

He Cares About You

Maybe you don’t want to trouble God with your hurts. After all, “He’s got famines and pestilence and wars. He won’t care about my little struggles,” you think. Why don’t you let Him decide that?

Jesus cared enough about a wedding to provide the wine. He cared enough about the woman at the well to give her answers. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “He cares about you.”

Your first step is to go to the right person. Go to God. Your second step is to assume the right posture. Bow before God. Luke 18:7 reminds us, “God will always give what is right to His people who cry to Him night and day, and He will not be slow to answer them.”

Listen to the prayer in Psalm 25:1-2: “Lord, I give myself to You, my God. I trust You.” So, go…bow…and trust. It’s worth a try, don’t you think?

Happy 4th of July!

As we celebrate our country’s freedom on this 4th of July, may you be encouraged by this level-headed instruction from the Bible:

The Apostle Paul wants young Timothy to lead the church in a godly fashion. His first command? “pray for all people.” The flagship assignment of the church is prayer. Feed the hungry? Counsel the confused? Teach the lost? Absolutely. But first, we pray. The primary activity of a local church is intercession and worship.

Specifically, we “pray for rulers and for all who have authority….” This includes our president, vice-president, all elected and appointed officials. We ask God to use them to facilitate a haven of quiet and peace where worship can abound. We pray so that “…we can have quiet and peaceful lives full of worship and respect for God.”

Remarkable. A peaceful society depends upon the prayers of the church. If we do not have a peaceful society–where worship and respect for God can flourish–what is the solution? Better government policy? A different president? New Congress? No, the first solution is a praying church.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray…then I will hear from heaven.” (II Chron. 7:14 NIV)

Perfect Love

You Are Not Alone

Have you ever gone to the grocery on an empty stomach? You’re a sitting duck. You buy everything you don’t need. Doesn’t matter if it’s good for you—you just want to fill your tummy! When you’re lonely, you do the same in life, pulling stuff off the shelf, not because you need it, but because you’re hungry for love.

Why do we do it? Because we fear facing life alone. For fear of not fitting in, we take the drugs. For fear of standing out, we wear the clothes. For fear of appearing small, we go into debt and buy the house. For fear of sleeping alone, we sleep with anyone. For fear of not being loved, we search for love in all the wrong places.

But all that changes when we discover God’s perfect love. 1 John 4:18 says, “Perfect love casts out fear.” You are not alone!

from Traveling Light