“Sometimes, I want to just throw this thing out! Maybe I need a new one.”

Then in a matter of nanoseconds, she changed her voice and started talking in baby-talk “Come on baby, mama needs you to just run a little faster. We have a major deadline to meet and after that I promise you can rest.”

After several unsuccessful attempts to speed things up, she with a huge sigh gave in and stated “I guess it’s time to reboot my system!”  My friend, though she was not going to lose her work or face the blue screen of death was reluctant about starting again.

This reminded me of the rut so many Pastors and Leaders easily fall into without knowing they themselves are the source of their limitations. The thought of “rebooting” never crosses their mind and when it does it is greeted with the evil eye. Followed by, the unconscious “who me?  I’m good. We’re good. My people just need to catch the vision and catch it fast.” Translation à “this is familiar and I don’t want to change.”

Every once in a while we all need to CTRL + ALT + DELETE. Activating this quick, simple combination of key strokes we allow our computers to take a brief shutdown, close all active programs, and recalibrate itself.  What a remarkable strategy instilled by the manufacture; a built-in fail safe. Yet, so often we take this feature for granted and dismiss it as an option.

A system reboot allows you to keep all of your upgrades, new features and added programs. (Like the ideas, ministry-must-haves, and gadgets you’ve gleaned over the years) Instead, CTRL + ALT + DELETE temporarily shuts down every active system and allows you to- one by one - pull up the programs that most need your time. Rather than running five MAJOR programs that require massive amounts of energy and memory, you can start again and work on the one most significant program for that day.

Our bodies and our organizations, like our computers have a distinct way of telling us that “Hey, I need a break. I need some attention.” AND each comes equipped with its own self correcting mechanism in the form of a “system reboot”.

Have you seen a huge decrease in your ministry’s productivity? Are you programs running at ½ speed? Do your team members lack drive and appear sluggish? If you answered yes, then maybe it’s time for a system reboot.

Before you “get out with the old and usher in the new” pause for a moment. Press CTRL + ALT + DELETE and when the system comes back up:

Take a look at your programs and plans, pick one thing, and focus on it until completion.

You are bound to see a huge difference in your system and your team’s performance. Here’s to a productive and prosperous 2011. (Let me know if this post was helpful, I have planned an entire series around this topic just for you.)

Jasmine made it to tryouts and it was the best she’d played in months. Jada was easily soothed with an oatmeal bath. I voted and received my cool sticker. Every meeting went well and there was no disappointment or frustration. For that day, I reached my destination. The journey is never certain nor are we promised that it will be free of obstacles. Yet, as Believers, we have solace in the fact that our outcome is certain. We win! Always in all things we win! See, the only thing you and I are to do each day is our part. Write your plan, prepare your hearts, and take deliberate action toward achieving your goals. Then REST! Leave the results in the hands of our almighty God!

Be encouraged. When you do what you can, God does what you can’t!

I absolutely love what I do. I LOVE who I am! Though my list is encompassing it     is not overwhelming because, to me, it’s fun!

I am reminded of a night my daughter and I shared last week. She came up to my  office to ask me some ridiculous question, it was bedtime. All sorts of random     questions are asked when it’s bedtime. While this night her motives were no different, my response was. I turned in my chair, looked her dead in her eyes and with a stern face said “do you wanna see something?” Intrigued and confused and more than likely thinking “is this a TRICK? Am I about to learn another lesson?” She hesitantly said, “Yes”. I whipped my chair back around, typed in my web brower’s search bar the letters Y-O-U-T-U-B-E. Jasmine started smiling.

“I found this cool song that I really like, do you wanna hear it?”

“Mom, really? cool? please, don’t use those types of words.” Jasmine has a way of reminding me that I am not hip. Lol! As I typed “the climb” in the search field, I could feel my heart pounding through my chest. I really like this song and I knew Jasmine did as well. I picked up a highlighter and a pen from my desk, swiveled my chair around and said to my dear Jasmine “you wanna join me in concert?” She was thrilled. With the lyrics on one monitor and the video on the other we grasp tightly to our makeshift mics and bellowed the song from some place deep within our non-singing souls. I know we screamed that song at least 7 times consecutively. OMG! We sounded AWFUL! (sorry Miley) Our voices cracked, we over sang the music, at one point I got so excited that I decided to jump out of my chair and act out the guitar solo. It was AMAZING! We laughed so hard that night. I am sure it is one we will never forget. As we both recollect the moment our joint description of the evening was: F-U-N!

When was the last time you had fun? Genuine, gut-busting, tear streaming, fun? Are you living out your dreams? Is fun apart of your daily routine? If not, what are you going to do to increase your “fun-factor”? I want to hear from you, please share.