Category Archives: Coaching

Your Inner Wimp Doesn’t Want You to be a Warrior

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By Donna Astern

The apostle Paul wrote his disciple Timothy to “endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” (2 Tim. 2:3)

Was that just about opposition to the gospel? Certainly both Paul and Timothy experienced that, but the whole concept of enduring hardness or difficulty is much, much wider.  How was Timothy going to be able to deal with opposition if he hadn’t learned about enduring in other areas of life?

Endurance involves the passage of time; it’s a choice to persevere when the natural tendency is to quit and complain.

For example, do you think Paul— the man who endured shipwrecks, beatings, betrayal, dangerous perils from weather & thieves— would he have “hit the snooze alarm” every morning given the option? (See 2 Corinthians 11:24-26.)  Why was Paul a warrior?

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Happiness: A Thought To Ponder

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By Donna Astern

Moments of happiness,
real contentment–
what does that feel like?

Freedom from striving after something else, something more?
Peace inside?

Might we be actually happier if we chose to be thankful every day for what blessings we already have?

A daily habit of gratitude by its very nature inspires more personal happiness.

What 5 things (however ordinary or small) are you grateful for right now? How do you feel when you consider those things?

“Let us come before him with thanksgiving
    and sing joyful songs of praise.”
~ Psalm 95:2 GNT

Repackaging and Reinvention

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A couple of weeks ago, I was out for an evening walk and began to ponder the topic of reinvention.

From time to time, we hear of a well-known performer, often a singer, who is said to have “reinvented” him- or herself. Upon a closer look, we see that the whereas the singer may have changed hair color and style, costume, or even the genre of music (now country as opposed to rock, for example), there has been no fundamental change in who or what he or she does– still singing, but just in a new package.

Businesses and celebrities repackage often as a way to update their image or appeal to a new crowd, but when it comes down to it, it’s the same content with a nice new package.

On the other hand, some people have genuinely reinvented themselves. Continue reading →

Spiritual Evolution

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True spiritual evolution starts with a divine dissatisfaction with our current status. Recognition of our need for the Savior initially led us to becoming born again.

From that point on, we grew and made spiritual progress. Yet, when our journey led us to a wall, we grew increasingly appalled at the disparity between the promises of the Word and what was our current experience. The abundant life Jesus promised was only partially understood or incorporated into everyday life. We knew deep down we were falling short of the promise. Continue reading →

Coaching Clients Past Setbacks by Finding Values

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The client sat downcast. “I know I said I wanted to, but I am having trouble sticking to the plan. Here I go again. One more attempt to make a real positive change and then another brick wall!”

At times, a client seems to be his own worst enemy. He started well, but ran out of enthusiasm or confidence along the way. The “why” seems weak in the face of the discouraging results or boredom or painful experiences.

It reminds me of what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 7:15: For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.
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Happiness and Wellness

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Coaching for Living a Life of Balance

Wellness incorporates much more than food and exercise. Just as some people are overly focused on a career to the detriment of family, so are others singularly centered on an eating plan or workout regime to the point of exclusion of other aspects of life. Often times, there has been so much talk, time, energy, and money given to losing weight and getting in shape, that a person may not even remember what it is like to dream again about other parts of life. A coach gives hope and inspires dreaming.

Wellness implies a balance in life that includes peace, stability, and personal growth, even when faced with difficulty and painful circumstances. Wellness gives the ability to bounce back from setbacks and disappointments. Continue reading →

The Pushmi-Pullyu

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In the children’s story of Doctor Doolittle, he finds an animal like a llama or antelope with two heads at opposite ends of the body, called a Pushmi-Pullyu (“push-me-pull-you”). When it wanted to move, both heads tried to go in opposite directions. Each mind had its own idea of what to do!

Can you relate to this dilemma? Continue reading →

What is a Life Coach?

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In the Church, the roles of the mentor and counselor are accepted and understood, looked to for instruction, direction, and advice. Coaching is a less understood function, a fact complicated by the numbers of people calling themselves coaches, whether or not they have received specialized training.

A life coach or leadership coach has been trained (and coached) in a different skill set than a mentor or counselor. The mentor imparts knowledge; the counselor seeks to heal and restore. The underlying premise of coaching is that God has made you the steward of your life, not the coach. Therefore, a coach does not tell you what to do, but works with you to help you discover what course of action to take and why. A Christian coach is interested in helping you understand what work God is accomplishing within you at this season of your life.

“Mentoring is imparting to you what God has given me; coaching is drawing out of you what God has put in you.” ~ Dale Stoll

Transforming Lives One Conversation at a Time

Is Something Missing? Awakening Your Desire for Positive Change

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In the Biblical book of Genesis is the story of creation. God created the heavens and the earth, and Adam to live in the Garden of Eden.  Adam had everything he needed and was content and happy.

Then God said it was not good for man to be alone and that He would make a helper for Adam. God knew Adam had a missing part of his life, but Adam did not, so God began to create a situation which would indirectly reveal it to him.

Interestingly, the action God took was to first make animals and bring them to Adam to see what he would name them. As the animals came, I believe they came to him male and female, causing Adam to note the difference between a lion and lioness, a rooster and a hen, a bull and a cow. These examples stood in contrast to Adam who did not have a mate. As all of the animals came to be named, God was awakening a desire in Adam for a mate, whom He subsequently made and presented to him. Continue reading →

Crabs in the Bucket?

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Many people living near the ocean enjoy crabbing as well as fishing. Once the first crab is caught, it is placed in a bucket and is likely to crawl out. However, when a second crab is placed in the bucket, the crab-catcher knows that neither will escape. The reason is that when one crab will attempt to crawl out, the other one will pull it other back down. Neither crab will allow the other to get out.

The crab is not getting out itself, but it does not want the other one to get out either! So both stay in the bucket and become somebody’s lunch.

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Enjoying Food Again

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If you watched the science-fiction movie, The Matrix, you may recall a scene in which the main characters are sitting down to a meal of mush as their only food, day in and day out, which was said to be nutritionally everything a body needed. One of the men commented how it just did not satisfy him the way a sizzling steak did!

Although not limited to a daily meal of mush as in the movie, so many people do not allow themselves the pleasure of enjoying what they eat.  Continue reading →

Facing Dream Busters

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There are a lot of reasons why people discourage others from pursuing their dreams.  Many seem to be altruistic – an effort to protect someone from failure or pain.  But we can’t protect someone from the pain of life, and certainly not at the cost of their dreams.

Jesus did not get his identity from what people said about him, he got his identity from what the Father said about him!

All things are possible – so, do you believe?

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Which Way to Run?

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Two Responses to Challenge

God knew that after 400 years of slavery, the Israelites were not ready to enter their Promised Land. They needed to have a new perspective of who they were and of the God who had delivered them. In His mercy, with the cloud by day and the fire by night, He led them along an alternate route, rather than a direct one.

After a time, they grew discouraged in the wilderness because of the way. (Num 21:4) Their trek was longer and more challenging than they had expected. They fell into ingratitude and grumbling towards the man they had once praised for his vision and leadership. Mutinous plans to return to Egypt were formed, but God squashed the rebellion. He intended that they move forward into their inheritance as a sovereign nation. Continue reading →

The Power of Decision

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Are you on hold? Wishing and hoping?

What kind of life are you waiting to have?

“Someday my prince will come.”
“Someday my ship will come in.”
“Someday I will be happy.”
“I’m just waiting on God.”

Did that last statement bother you? Numerous people use that last one as an excuse for why they don’t have what they want now.

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Permission to Rest Outside of Tahiti

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One observation I have heard visitors to the States often make is that Americans are always in such a hurry, and that we don’t seem to know how to relax. In contrast, people in some countries work fewer hours and have much longer vacations. In some cultures, a nap is just part of daily life. The idea of “hurry” and “overtime” just doesn’t fit in with my idea of Tahiti.

When was the last time you took a break to just enjoy a beautiful day? Can you take a real day off? A real vacation? Do you feel guilty when you do? Continue reading →

Pondering How To Answer

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Relationships take work! In dealing with people, we are sometimes hurt by their flaws or sins. We are then left with the choice of how to respond. It can be really complicated at times!

“The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.”(Prov 15:28)

Thoughtful believers want to walk in Christlikeness, however tempted to attack or withdraw. God calls us to relationship and fellowship, knowing that we will rub against one another from time to time. We might be called on to extend mercy and overlook a wrong, or it may be time to speak the truth in love.

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