Are You the Same Team

This caught my eye this morning. It was from an email I received from Gary Smalley. What do you think?

"Hey, aren't we on the same team?"

Good relationships operate like a team! Therefore you have to redefine winning as "finding and implementing a solution that people can feel good about." A winning solution goes beyond a plan of attack that seems merely acceptable or tolerable to everyone. That's compromise, and compromises rarely make anyone feel good.

A win-win solution makes everyone feel good, gives positive movement to the relationship, and leaves the relationships in a better place than it was before. You tend to relax when winning becomes "finding and implementing a solution that people can feel good about." Why? Because you don't have to worry that the others will accept a solution that makes them feel like a loser.

If you walk away from every conflict feeling like a loser, do you think a win-win solution might help? What will it take to focus on both parties winning?

Blessings,


Gary Smalley
Editor, Smalley Relationship Center

Patriotism

This Sunday a video was shown that really impacted me. It was great and I thought that I would share it with others.

I do wonder if the younger generations will understand what patriotism is all about. Watching this video a few times today brought back to some of my experiences in the Viet Nam war era. Even though I did not go to Nam, I spent time in the military and I had friends that I lost in that war.

We must not loose site of where our freedom in this country comes from and the lives that have been given to protect our freedom. There is another freedom that we all can have and that is in Christ. Christ can and will set us free... All we have to do is ask....

Second Half Christians

Second-half Christians often hesitate these days, somewhat jaded, a bit road weary, yet waiting to be invited as valued members to the team. More than ever they are ready to be challenged with fresh purpose. But too often church leaders make a dangerous assumption … that these second-half Christians will remain content to just be … while the church focuses on other "more important" tasks of reaching the next generation. It is imperative for church leaders to release these treasures for God's Kingdom and not let them slip through our fingers. (Ward Tanneburg, CASA Ministries)

What do you think, is Ward on to something here?


Quick Facts on Boomers - by Rev. Chris Holck
• Born between the years of 1946 and 1964
• Approx. 78 million alive in 2005. In the 18 years prior to the Boomers, which are labeled the Builders, there were 49 million births
• 11,000 Boomers turn 50 or 60 each day (one every seven seconds) which equals over 4 million each year
• First Boomers eligible for Social Security in 2008
• First Boomers turn 65 in 2011 and the number of 65 and over will increase dramatically during the 2010-2030 period with twice as many 65 and over in 2030 than there were in 2000, growing from 35 million to 71.5 million and representing nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population
• By the year 2025, Americans over 65 will outnumber teenagers by more than two to one
• The U.S. Census Bureau projects that the population 85 and over could grow from 5.3 million in 2006 to nearly 21 million by 2050 which is when the youngest Boomers will have turned 85
• Life expectancy during the twentieth century went from 48 to 78 years of age