Weekly Posts

This meeting was meant to close out the year strong. Often, when we get to the end of year, the main thing that we do is start looking ahead. But what about looking backwards? Some people only ever look backwards when they are trying to plan into the future, yet, God’s word gives much to say on the idea of looking into the past to just simply remember. According to God’s word, remembering is a key aspect to continuing to progress. This is exactly what Josiah talked about this night at our last meeting for the year. No action steps moving forward, not many details determined for the progress of next year, just a deep focus on the achievements of this year and God’s hand in each moment.

Josiah started the meeting with prayer, and then we read from God’s word directly. We read Deuteronomy 8:7-9: “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.” Once this was read, we spent time listing out one by one what our achievements of 2024 were. There was much to celebrate, but before celebrating, we looked beneath each achievement.

Beneath each achievement, we began to look for the hand of God. We read Deuteronomy 8:10-18: “When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.”

For each moment of achievement, we aimed to see the “God Factor” inside that mountain-top moment. Was God giving pruning, favor, blessing, deliverance? Remembering allows us to see these patterns of the hand of God. Not only is this remembering good, but this word from God declares that we should remember so that we do not forget God. Remember, so you do not forget. It seems a bit simple, but remembering is hard – not just an easily flowing task. The tendency for everyone is to forget. But Josiah also mentioned that our remembering is so we do not begin to think we accomplished everything on our own.

It seems to the world that if we are progress, we must look ahead. However, God takes the obvious in the world and then does the opposite. He tells us to look to the past and remember. Josiah closed out this time with conversations of God’s faithfulness from each member and the God Factors that were at play each moment. Josiah also pointed out what Pastor Robby of Longhollow Church stated this most recent Sunday – that God takes the obvious, and he does the opposite. Maybe you are looking for a next step, or clarity about a decision, or how to carry success even further. What if you took the obvious of looking forward and instead paused and did the opposite?

As you come to the end of this year (and the end of this post), take a moment to look back and celebrate how God has carried you in the successes.

Regarding business, I recognize that I am in a realm of the world where knowledge and learning presents itself in front of me quickly and constantly. Both Josiah and I figured it would be wise to document it for others to learn. Constantly there are patterns that are emerging and lessons that are being learned, in both our groups and events. To write them ensures they are not lost in memory and it allows the lessons to go from our lives to others.

This being said, my readers should expect content that comes from experience – not from only a book on leadership or a book on business. Each experience and piece of wisdom here comes from a real event that we walked through personally, whether it be in weekly meetings with other creators or from our quarterly events. These thoughts, lessons, questions, and answers may already be found in some pages of books, biographies of the greats, or in history – yet we are experiencing them now. The odds are, so are you.

Regarding my life and experience, I have a wife and a little boy. I have worked in a few small businesses centered around customers and service. I have been placed in positions where I can see patterns, locate problems, and help implement solutions. The more I do this, the more I enjoy it. At the same time, I have also gone through formal education, having received my undergrad in the science of psychology, while now working on my graduate degree in Clinical and Mental Health Counseling. This being said, the patterns that I see are not only the patterns of business but also the patterns of people in business and life. By combining these two worlds and taking a multidisciplinary approach to learning, I am able to achieve progress. Hopefully, my writing will allow you to achieve progress, too.