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Graceologie Episode 157: Mark Batterson


Mark Batterson on the Graceologie with Gwen Smith podcast

Ready to persevere through obstacles, solve problems and stay focused on your God-given assignments?

RELATED LINKS:

Mark's WEBSITE: MarkBatterson.com

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BUY Mark's BOOK: Win the Day

BUY Mark's BOOK: In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day

BUY Mark's BOOK: The Circle Maker

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OVERVIEW:

If you'd like some help persevering through obstacles, solving problems and staying focused on your God-given assignments, then this episode with author and pastor Mark Batterson is a must-listen!

QUOTES & NOTES:

“The hardest person I’ve ever had to lead is the person who looks right back at me in the mirror every single morning.” Leadership starts with self leadership and self leadership starts with self evaluation. You have to get honest with yourself and identify some of the fears you need to face and goals you want to go after. 

You don’t feel like going to the gym but you feel good coming out of the gym. Same with daily habits! 

75% of New Year's resolutions fail within the first month. It’s a recipe for failure if you think in one year timelines. But can you do it for a day?

Do your age in sit ups! Write out a gratitude journal! Do 10,000 steps! Just make a plan, for whatever it may be, for one day to start. There is power in daily habits.

Bury Dead Yesterday’s-If you don’t own the past the past will own you.

Win the Day

Imagine Unborn Tomorrows-Exercising the imagination that God has given to us.

7 Habits:

  1. Flip the Script: If you want to change your life, start by changing your story.
  2. Kiss the Wave: The obstacle is not the enemy; the obstacle is the way.
  3. Eat the Frog: If you want God to do the super, you’ve got to do the natural.
  4. Fly the Kite: How you do anything is how you’ll do everything.
  5. Cut the Rope: Playing it safe is risky.
  6. Wind the Clock: Time is measured in minutes; life is measured in moments.
  7. Seed the Clouds: Sow today what you want to see tomorrow.

Charles Spurgeon said, “I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.”

We want to run away from the wave crashing into us. 

Breaking and building daily habits. Here are 2 techniques:

    Habit stacking. Couple a difficult habit with one that comes more naturally. 

Habit Switching. You don’t stop sinning by not sinning. You need a vision that is bigger and better than the temptation you are experiencing. 

For example, you can’t just stop complaining. You have to “habit switch” by keeping a gratitude journal. Write out a gratitude every single day and you aren’t a complainer anymore. You are someone that is now grateful! And this will “flip your script”.

Mark Twain, “If you ever have to eat a live frog, it’s best done early in the morning because then you will know the hardest thing is behind you.”

This is a key to overcoming  procrastination and perfectionism. You sometimes just need to do the hardest thing first thing in the morning. It will give you the momentum to build off of it the rest of the day. If you want God to do the super, you have got to do the natural!

God’s power is made perfect in weakness. So don’t feel like your weakness disqualifies you from doing the thing He’s called you to do. God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called. 

If you want the days to count you have to count the days. 

Lamentations 3:22 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;[his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

Wind the Clock:

Time is measured in minutes. Life is measured in moments. Take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. 

Selah - daily sabbath. It’s moments of pause. Jesus said “consider the lilies” otherwise meaning to stop and smell the roses. 

Average person, 46.9% of us, we aren’t thinking about what we are doing in the present moment. In other words, this means we are half alive! 

Jesus cursed the barren fig tree. A barren fig tree is not producing fruit. It’s wasting space and time. So we have got to curse the barren fig tree! Some things are not the best and highest use of our time. You don’t find time, you make time. Saying yes to one thing is saying no to something else.