PULSE CHECK
"PULSE" - "the sentiments, opinions, or attitudes current among the public or a particular group."		"CHECK" - "to examine something in order to establish its state or condition."
"PULSE CHECK" - is a weekly reminder from CHALLENGED TO THE CORE encouraging you to take time "to examine" your "sentiments, opinions, or attitudes" in order to establish the "state or condition" of your life.

OVERWHELMED WITH POSSIBILITIES

Decision making is an area that separates winners from losers. We need to be able to make decisions about hundreds of things every day. Some decisions are easy, at my favorite coffee bar I almost always order the same thing, “Grande, bold, no room”. This short-hand tells them that I want a large size coffee, of their strongest brew, filled to the brim because I do not add any cream or sugar. However, when I have to order something for my wife it’s a different story. Did you know that there is a big difference between a “mocha frappucino” and a “mocha iced coffee”? I become “overwhelmed with possibilities” as I gaze at the menu board looking for the right combination. The whole process is agonizing because I am unfamiliar with anything but “Grande, bold, no room”. Over time I have been able to master the art of ordering what I call “dessert coffee”, because I have learned from my mistakes. Deciding what to do with our lives is much more difficult than ordering coffee. These decisions are serious and can create “collateral damage” to our family and friends.  When we are “overwhelmed with possibilities” in trying to change our life; there are three key areas to consider if we want to “WIN”.

Work in areas that you are gifted in, are passionate about, and that allow you to build margin into your life. Everyone has gifts, talents and abilities; so why not leverage them to your advantage? God promises to give us the “desires of our heart” when we are following Him (Psalm 37:4). Going to work on Monday should be a pleasant experience; something that you look forward to versus something that you dread every Sunday night. That doesn’t mean that there will never be any problems or that you will enjoy every single aspect of your career, but it does mean that the “good” far outweighs the “bad”. You are pursuing your passion, having fun and getting paid to do it! Building margin into your life means that you don’t allow your passion to consume every other area of your life. Following your passion shouldn’t come at the expense of your spouse, your children and/or your friends. Life is too short to be so single-minded. Even God took a break and rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2).

Inspect your motives. King David knew the importance of pure motives. In one of his prayers he said, “Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.” (Psalm 26:2-3). God doesn’t want us to do the “right” thing with the “wrong” motive. In Matthew 5:23, Jesus said if we bring our offering to the altar and we have some problem with our brother that we should leave the offering and go work out the situation before we present the offering to Him. Motive is important. A wrong motive can ruin our otherwise good intentions. Right motives are like whipped cream on a mocha frappucino; they only make things better.

Never quit and never compare. When you are following your passion, and using your gifts; never, never, never quit! You may have to alter your lifestyle or get a “day job” to pay the bills, but never quit following your dream. The biggest problem we create for ourselves is deciding what our passion is “after” we have burdened ourselves with responsibilities that supersede or trump our quest. If you have a spouse, a family and all of the obligations connected with them, it’s not fair to abandon them or have them pay the price for your new found dream. You have given up that right by getting things out of order. To follow your dream you will have to carve out “time and money” (translate as wait) after meeting all other needs.  A second pitfall is comparing your dream to someone else. We can beat ourselves up over the fact that we are not as good as, or as pretty as, or as wealthy as, or as smart as…; the list is endless. Everyone is unique and we must follow our own path to be truly happy.

If you are “overwhelmed with possibilities” seriously consider these three keys. If you are still confused about what to do, ask God for a “grande life, with bold passion, and no room for compromise” and he will know just exactly what you need. Check your pulse, smell the coffee and praise God!

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