Nick Meeder | Way Finders

There is a myth in our culture that believes you should leave work at work and not bring it home with you. Now, there’s two aspects to this. I do not advocate bringing physical work home to do while you’re home. If you’re at home, then be at home and fully present. I’m talking about the emotional, spiritual and psychological aspects of work. The myth is that you shouldn’t bring those home.

The truth is that you and I are one person and so whatever happens in life, we bring with ourselves into the other areas.

Understand that you’re one being made up of different parts. Though the spirit will separate from the body, I do not believe that God, as far as I can tell from the beginning of creation, did not intend for there to be a separation between body and spirit. We were designed to be one being, in the likeness of God. However, due to sin, there is a separation of the body from the spirit, at least temporarily, until we’re resurrected.

I have found that as much as I try to leave events of my life where they happened, it does not work. I bring my experiences with me. If I have a crummy day at work, I can’t simply leave those emotions behind me and not bring them home to my wife. If I’ve had a difficult day at work, I’ve found that it helps to discuss the event with my wife.

This helps with a few things:

1. I become conscious of what’s bothering me. If I’m aware of what’s bothering me, then I’m active in preventing it from influencing my interaction with my wife or others.
2. I can process how God wants me to respond to it. Many times, I get angry or frustrated with someone at work. If I don’t process how God would want me to respond to the situation, then most likely I’ll revert to reacting from my fallen fleshly desire.
3. I gain closure or a plan to deal with it. When I become conscious and process what is bothering me, I can forgive someone and let go of any baggage or hurt. I may also recognize that in offending someone that I need to approach that person, admit my fault and ask for forgiveness. If I don’t do this, it effects, in a negative way, my interaction with coworkers, friends and family. It also influences my spiritual health, my minds ability to think, and my productivity at work. Why? Because all of my spiritual, mental, and physical resources are being drained to deal with hurt, pain, anger, or frustration.

Here’s a couple ways to implement these steps:

1. Talk or write it out. Discuss it with a friend, mentor, or your spouse who is mature enough to handle it and will give you the truth. Maybe you could think it out loud by talking to God about it. Or, perhaps you simply need to write it out so that you can gain clarity.
2. Ask yourself how God wants you to deal with it. Consult scripture because God has a prescribed way of dealing with offenses between people. If it’s an issue more complicated, seek advice from a mature, sober minded spiritual leader.
3. Make and execute the plan. If you need to ask for forgiveness from someone, do it without delay. Do not wait on the perfect time or moment. Procrastination only makes a bad situation worse, especially if you do not deal with offenses between yourself and someone else. If there’s a fire, don’t let it continue to spread, put it out before it gets bigger.

There is a reason God’s way of seeking forgiveness and responding correctly is the best path for us to take.

Question: How do you deal with things that effect your relationship and interactions with others? Do you bury your emotions down so that no one knows, or do you bring them out in a safe place to deal with them?

Please leave a comment below.

Has the path for your life ever been unclear to you? It feels that way for me almost on a weekly basis. I wonder if that is self-inflicted.

I think that it is self-inflicted. For whatever reason, I tend to over complicate things. However, God’s will is much simpler than I make it. Have you ever heard of the K.I.S.S. principle? KISS stands for Keep It Simple Stupid. I somehow believe that if I can make a complex framework or process that I will have all the necessary components to discern God’s path. The issue is that in order to have a complex framework or process I’m continually gathering Information, yet never taking any action. It is as if I feel that I may have missed something, therefore, I’m constantly searching for more information.

So, if you ever go through something similar, here’s what to do:

1. Pray – Phil 4:6-“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” The interesting thing is that before this verse, you’re commanded to rejoice in the Lord always. Make sure that you take delight in God when you’re praying. Also, stop and listen! God is a being and prayer should be a conversation. If all you do is talk and use God as a vending machine, He’ll never get to tell you what it is you’re supposed to do. Maybe you’re supposed to wait…ouch! Did that hurt?
2. Read Scripture – If God has revealed Himself through scripture and you want to know His will for your life, then it only follows logical thought to read the bible!
3. Seek godly wisdom – “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.” – Prov 28:26. I’ve heard that the definition of wisdom is knowledge applied. Find people who have applied knowledge to their lives and done something more than watch the news and have an opinion. Talk to your spiritual leader in your church or those who have traveled a similar path and have grown and done something with their lives. Don’t depend on your own mind.

These three actions will help you find the path God wants you to take.

Question: What path are you unsure of traveling down? What do you do when you’re unsure of the path to take in life?

Please share in the comments below.

God has made you unique. You have a DNA make up that separates you from anyone else. He has also gifted you with certain strengths, personalities, spiritual gifts, and skills that others don’t have. If you want to understand your purpose and what you should do to fulfill it, then first you need to understand how God has wired and gifted you.

In in this video, I compare a shovel and a bow and arrow. They are distinctly different and perform different functions. A shovel could never be used with a bow to be shot at a target. A bow isn’t to be used to dig a hole. And so you are just like one of those. God has designed you to fulfill a specific purpose and if you want to fulfill your purpose, you need to understand your specific function.

After you watch the video, think about the ways that you’re different. Write down some of the things you’re good at. What things bring you joy? What things has God gifted you to do? What unique skills or experiences do you have? What are you NOT good at? What DON’T you like to do?

Please take a moment and check out the resources page I’ve posted for information to help you understand better how God has made you. Click here to go straight to the page.

Question: Do you understand your specific purpose and are you fulfilling it?

Please leave a comment below.

Have you ever wondered why things don’t seem to be moving forward in your life? Have you gathered a lot of information from college, reading, or attending conferences and seminars, but still nothing seems to be happening with a dream you want to achieve?

I discovered the same thing in my own life. I wanted to know and understand my purpose, but everything I was learning didn’t seem to be helping me any.

The truth was, I was gathering a TON of information. The issue was that I had too much, and couldn’t read it all, and the other two things were that I wasn’t processing what I was learning and I wasn’t implementing what I was learning.

Two things that prevent people from moving forward is that once they have new knowledge, they don’t process it or seek to implement it.

I met a man recently who had 4 bachelor degrees and was working on a masters. We were working together and so one time he didn’t look like he was doing very well. I asked him how he was doing to which he replied, “I’ve just got a lot on my plate. My schedule is packed and I’m trying to handle many things. It is also very difficult being broke.” Here is a man who has 4 degrees, working on a masters, had three rental properties (I found this out later), and yet he wasn’t where he wanted to be in life.

Don’t get me wrong, I think that a degree is great. Go get yourself a degree and some knowledge, but few, and I mean very few people in this world right now, seem to actually understand how to take that knowledge and apply it in life. My pastor once told me that wisdom is knowledge applied. The man in the previous paragraph, obviously hadn’t applied any of that knowledge he gained from school.

So, what do you and I do now that we understand that there is a disconnect between having knowledge and applying that knowledge?

Here is what I do and maybe you can make your own process that works for you, too. Anytime I have new knowledge come in, I ask…

1. Is this good and valuable information? There is a ton of noise out in the world today. You have to sort through it. Have you heard this before or is it new information?
2. Will this information address your current need or problem? If it doesn’t, then you might archive it for future reference, but don’t spend too much time on it.
3. What must I do with this new knowledge? For instance, if you’re at a marriage conference, before you leave, write out some of the new ways you’ll implement the information to strengthen your marriage when you get home and how you will continue to review it. This way you already have an action plan that you must do. Don’t procrastinate on implementing the new knowledge.
4. Does any of this new knowledge need to become a habit? You might implement the knowledge once, but if you don’t continue with it, then it has done you no good. Therefore, you must figure out a behavior or mental trigger that will remind you to do it. As you do this regularly, then it will become a habit.
5. Has implementing this new knowledge given me the results I needed? Not every type of information is going to help everyone the same way. Take for instance weight loss. There is a ton of knowledge, diets, and programs to help you. What I have found is that there is no one solution for everyone looking to become healthy. You need to find the one that you like the most.

Question: What is your process for gathering, implementing and sustaining new knowledge? Is there a part of this process that you need to work on? Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.