It’s Time to Get Up!

The time has rapidly approached. I release my first book tomorrow called, “Getting Up.” I can’t tell you how excited I am. The book describes my story and the process of restoration that God has set me on. It wasn’t an easy process but one that has revolutionized my life. I want to encourage you to get this book if you or someone you know is struggling with breaking the power of sin. This book outlines a practical plan to help anyone Get Up from devastating circumstances. It will help people who feel like their destiny has passed them by and help encourage those who feel disqualified from ministry or leadership. This book is not the answer to all your problems but is a helpful tool to set you in the right direction.

Please help me get the word out by tweeting or updating your facebook status TOMORROW about the new book. The “Buy Now” page will be live tomorrow, along with the full site. You can copy and paste this:

Getting Up is now available! Visit http://ajnet.us/BuyGettingUp

Thanks so much for all your support and help. I’m excited to see how God is going to use this book!

Dream Adversity

Well, it’s about a week away from the release (Tuesday, November 8th! ) of my first book called “Getting Up” and I am super excited because I really believe that this book will help a lot of people rebound from devastating circumstances. Not only rebound, but GET UP and live in the destiny and purpose God has for them.

This book is the realization of a dream. A dream that started with an idea. An idea that became a full-blown passion for people to experience the God-kind-of-restoration. That dream then birthed hope, inspiration, and motivation.

Be aware though, with every dream also comes adversity. Not everyone is going to be excited about your dream. You will have adversity to your dream, think Joseph. There will be people who are “dream adverse”, I call them dream killers. These are people who are “the voice of reason”, funny thing is… no God-sized dream is ever reasonable. These short-sighted folks will be disguised as those who are close to you and maybe they really do have “your best interest at heart” but they tend to dampen the fire of passion that you have for the thing God gave you to do. These people aren’t bad and you may consider their advice. After all, there is safety in a multitude of counsellors, so don’t be so prideful and arrogant to blow off their input. They may have some valid concerns and reality checks, but ultimately they are not the Holy Spirit and they usually have no idea of what God has placed in you.

Then they’ll be dream makers. These are the people who not only believe in what you are doing, they help make it happen. They give time, energy, money… they leverage their influence to help see your dream come to fruition. These are the people that when you look back, you can truly say, “I couldn’t have done it without them.”  And you always want to associate with the dream makers. I want to be a dream maker. When people think of me, I want them to look at me as someone who gave them a leg up and helped them achieve their God-given destiny and I hope that’s your desire as well.

In the end, follow what God has called you to do and if it’s a God idea, I encourage you to pursue it with all your heart! I believe in your dream and I believe in you.

How have you overcome dream adversity?

Living in Forgiveness

Over the next few weeks I’ll be adding excerpts from my upcoming book, Getting Up. Here’s another! Check it out!

•          •          •          •

We need to note one important thing: we live in the forgiveness of God. When we repent, God forgives us. The Bible says in Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” In Micah 7:19 He says, “our sins are thrown into the depths of the sea,” implying that something at the bottom of the ocean will never see the light of day! Completely forgotten!

This is where we need to live. Who are we to bring up what God has forgiven? If He has forgiven us, then we need to forgive us. Forgiving ourselves is imperative to walking in forgiveness. Depending on what you have to get up from, there may be people in your life who are not ready to forgive you, but that has no bearing on the forgiveness of God. Jesus died so you could have the assurance of forgiveness.

Are you living in the forgiveness of God or the shame of your past?

The Heart of the Issue

Over the next few weeks I’ll be adding excerpts from my upcoming book, Getting Up. Here’s another! Check it out!

•          •          •          •

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 

At the heart of the issue is the heart. The external actions of a person who seems to genuinely repent may be dramatic. There may be lots of crying and snotting, there may be a bunch of promises to change, there may be a lot of external trappings of repentance…but the true test of repentance is action. God knows our heart, but people will not see it until we live it.

God knows our heart but people will not see it until we live it. 

When there is a breaking of our hearts for what we have done, and there is a breaking of our wills for what we want, it is at that point we find our hearts are changed. God wants us to be new; the Holy Spirit is in us to regenerate our hearts.

Earning Respect by Speaking Truth

Over the next several weeks I’ll be adding excerpts from my upcoming book, Getting Up. Here’s another! Check it out!

•          •          •          •

As a leader of our family, ministry, or company, the greatest impact we will have is by our example. How we live our life will be the true test of the impact we make in the world around us. We can teach what we know, but we reproduce who we are. This will apply to every area of our life and leadership. I have found that when I just admit what I have done wrong, my wife and kids have a deeper respect for me than if I just put up a facade as if I am just fine when they know full well that I am not!

Speaking the truth will always earn us respect.

We see it all the time with politicians and celebrities who make some really bad moral decisions. The ones who admit what they have done, take responsibility for it, and work towards making it right are the ones for whom we have a deeper respect. Speaking the truth will always earn us respect.

Do you have a hard time speaking the truth when you screw up?