The NIV Ragamuffin Bible blends the wildly popular New International Version of the Bible with reflections of the late Brennan Manning (1934-2013), author of The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out. This bible contains 104 devotions, 250 reflections, & 150 quotes from the late Brennan Manning. For those who are unfamiliar with Brennan Manning, he is the author of what many would consider the best books on grace ever written, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out. I read this book over 10 years ago and still view it as one of the best Christian books ever written. The tagline on the back of this bible sums it up best: “Do you believe that God not only loves you, but that he also likes you?” This question is pivotal in our walk with Christ and the aim of this bible is to use the scriptures of the NIV and the reflections of a great man to draw you closer to God and help the reader understand how much God not only loves them, but also likes them! My plan, once my current Bible reading plan is finished is to use a year long Bible reading plan and read it in the NIV Ragamuffin Bible, stopping along the way to read the wonderful reflections, devotions, and quotes, I hope you’ll join me.
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Seven Questions about the last year
On December 29th, 2009 Michael Hyatt posted a very thought provoking article on processing what the last year has contained. You can read it here. The gist is that there are 7 questions you should
ask yourself about the last year. This post is my attempt to process these questions for myself personally. I will also be blogging about this from a business perspective as well, head on over to the TwoMilesSolutions.com blog to check it out. I will be doing resolution/goal setting posts next week, but here is a look back.
- If the last year were a movie of your life, what would the genre be?
I would have to say adventure. My second child was born this year and it was a year of learning a lot of different lessons. We never knew what was around the corner, but God always came through. - What were the two or three major themes that kept recurring?
– Gaining a deeper understanding…this was a year of understanding myself, my wife, my son, and my business better.
– Survival of the Fittest…as most of you know this was a tough year economically for a lot of people because of the recession, but we made it through, sometimes just by the grace of God, but He always provided. - What did you accomplish this past year that you are the most proud of?
Along with raising a great boy, having a great marriage to a wonderful woman, and the birth of my second child, I also became the Director of SERVOLUTION (coordinate service ministries for the church) at Metro Believers Church. This was a huge thing for me as I love to serve and now we are able to put a focused effort on service in our church. - What do you feel you should have been acknowledged for but weren’t?
This one is a personal question that I don’t feel I should post for the world to see. - What disappointments or regrets did you experience this last year?
From a personal perspective (see my business blog for my business answer), I am mostly disappointed in myself for the amount of time I didn’t spend with my family and focusing on my weight loss goals that I have set for the past few years. This is mainly due to the work schedule that I keep (it is a regular occurrence for me to work until 2 am.) I make it a point to always have dinner with my family and spend time after dinner with them, but I want to work towards more time with them and there are things in the works that will help get me to that point. - What was missing from last year as you look back?
This could probably go in the disappointments question as well, but I missed a lot of good quality quiet time with the Word this last year. Along with time missed with my family, I should have spent more time in the Word. - What were major life-lessons you learned this past year?
– When with your family, you need to disconnect from the office. This is a huge thing for me given that I work from home. What this means for me is that sometimes I leave my cell phone in my office so that I am not checking my email at the dinner table.
– Sometimes you just need a break. As much as I would like to think that I am superman, I am not, sometimes I just need to stop and relax.
Hopefully, you found this post insightful, I would recommend doing the same as you get ready to start the new year and set goals for the upcoming year. You can’t figure out where you are going if you don’t know where you have been.
On December 29th, 2009 Michael Hyatt posted a very thought provoking article on processing what the last year has contained. You can read it here. The gist is that there are 7 questions you should ask yourself about the last year. This post is my attempt to process these questions for myself from a business perspective. I will be doing resolution/goal setting posts next week, but here is a look back.
- If the last year were a movie of your life, what would the genre be?
I would have to say suspense. Two Miles Solutions, LLC will be celebrating its 3rd birthday in March of 2010 so we are still on that upward curve where you don’t know sometimes where that next paycheck is coming from. This is especially true given what the economic climate in our country was this year. All that being said, Two Miles Solutions, LLC is ending the year on a great foot and things look very good for 2010. - What were the two or three major themes that kept recurring?
– Gaining a deeper understanding…this was a year where I grew a lot as an individual, from a business owner perspective, I have learned quite a lot about the politics that you have to play as a business owner sometimes and as much as you try and stay out of the BS, it finds you. I have learned how to use a lot of cool tools this year and have developed quite the toolbox for myself to help other customers.
– Survival of the Fittest…as most of you know this was a tough year economically for a lot of people because of the recession, many businesses shut down, but Two Miles Solutions, LLC is still alive and kicking and looking forward to what 2010 will contain. - What did you accomplish this past year that you are the most proud of?
I think the first thing I have to say is that I survived. A lot of business owners I know had to close shop this year. I am proud to say that Two Miles Solutions, LLC is right on the verge of some really cool things that look to be shaping up for the 2010 calendar year. - What do you feel you should have been acknowledged for but weren’t?
This one is a personal question that I don’t feel I should post for the world to see. - What disappointments or regrets did you experience this last year?
There are a few projects that I worked on this year that should have gained traction but for one reason or another didn’t. All four projects hold the promise of residual income that will allow me to spend less time working and more time with my family, but for reasons I can’t elaborate to the entire world (most if not all of them completely out of my control) none of them turned out the way we expected. Things are looking better for 2010 on all four projects, but we will see. - What was missing from last year as you look back?
Sleep. Most people who know me know that I don’t get a whole lot of sleep. I hope to change this in 2010 and going forward. - What were major life-lessons you learned this past year?
– When with your family, you need to disconnect from the office. This is a huge thing for me given that I work from home. What this means for me is that sometimes I leave my cell phone in my office so that I am not checking my email at the dinner table.
– Sometimes you just need a break. As much as I would like to think that I am superman, I am not, sometimes I just need to stop and relax.
Hopefully, you found this post insightful, I would recommend doing the same as you get ready to start the new year and set goals for the upcoming year. You can’t figure out where you are going if you don’t know where you have been.