Warning! Don’t Make New Year’s Resolutions – Here Are 3 Things That Will Transform Your 2010
December 31, 2009
I no longer do new year’s resolutions. The feeling of failure when I inevitably blow it isn’t worth it!
As someone with a severe right brain bias I do have a form of goal setting (dislike that term) that really works for me. I’ll talk about that in a future post but regardless of what you want to achieve this year let me share some stuff that will get you there faster and more enjoyably.
I have identified a few things that really have a huge degree of leverage over the rest of my life. When I consistently apply these three things it significantly improves everything else – and I mean everything. And you know the great thing – they are really simple to implement.
So without further ado here are my 3 secrets for larger living:
1. Drink more water
2. Walk every day
3. Choose to be thankful
1. Drink.
I never cease to be amazed at how drinking more water affects my energy levels and mental clarity (and frankly I need all the help I can get sometimes!). Here’s my tip for making sure I get at least a litre of H2O consumed daily.
Get a 500ml bottle and fill it with tap water and drink it’s contents twice over the course of the day – simple as that.
BTW here’s a trick to improve the taste of ordinary tap water. Fill a jug and leave it in the fridge for an hour or two, the chlorine in the water evaporates leaving better tasting water. Use this water to fill your bottle.
2 Walk.
The simple act of going for a walk for 30 minutes has had a revolutionary effect on me.
Firstly the health benefits of fresh air and exercise should be obvious but it’s turned into a spiritual discipline. It’s great thinking prayer and worship time – it’s a sacred thing were the two way conversation between God and I comes into sharper focus, were distractions fall away and answers to stubborn problems appear, were creative ideas and strategies bubble up from within.
Mental health studies show that going for a walk is a proven mood lifter and even heads off the effects of depression and in particular going for a walk out in nature, in the country or at the coast, multiplies the effect.
Maybe it’s something to do with being out in the midst of creation that is constantly worshipping it’s creator. Worship after all is a contagious thing that effects everything in the atmosphere where it is going on – does that sound too new-agey? read Ps19.
3. Thank.
Be grateful… even if it’s a sacrifice!
This will turn your life upside down, or is that right side up? I’ll write more about this in future but here are a few tasters for choosing to be thankful.
• It’s the gateway to His presence (Ps100:4)
• Gratitude precedes miracles (every time Jesus publicly gave thanks an amazing miracle followed e.g. feeding thousands of people with a packed lunch, raising Lazarus from the dead etc)
• It keeps you in the perfect will of God (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
• It makes you a happier person (even science proves it: http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/labs/emmons/)
• Being thankful in advance for things that you are believing for makes them happen faster!
There are many more benefits but that list should keep most of us in happy mode for a while!
If it helps keep a gratitude journal, write down stuff that you choose to be thankful for.
Two things happen when you do this. The process of writing engages your conscious and subconscious mental processes and reinforces the gratitude. Secondly the fact that you’ve documented your thoughts means you can remind yourself later of His goodness if you’re ever struggling to figure out how or what to be grateful for.
So there you go – transform your life with these 3 three ultra simple but profoundly effective disciplines.
Drink. Walk. Thank!
Drop me a comment below to let me know your experiences or other suggestions.
Oh, and THANK YOU for being a subscriber to my email newsletter and or this blog – it’s a pleasure to journey life together with like minded folks.
Happy new year!
Andy
P.S. Did you get your free download? House Concert Live Recording: Only In Your Love
I’m ‘recycling’ some music gear inc. a Roland RD600 digital stage piano
December 28, 2009
Folks I'm recycling some of my music gear to make way for new stuff.
So here's what I'll be sending to eBay shortly via www.liquid8music.com: 1. Roland RD600 digital stage piano2. Torque TM150P Powered Monitor 1. Roland RD600 digital stage piano I've owned this for a few years now but never used it! I bought it thinking my kids, who play piano, might use it but they stuck with the acoustic instead. The previous owner was a guitarist who got it with the intention of learning – so it has only seen minimal household use, it's in mint condition! If you want to cross my palm with £650 ono or the equivalent then it's yours! Here's one of many reviews from Harmony Central: Ease of Use : 7
Presets are accurate and superior compared to other digital pianos.
Editing can be difficult if you're a novice. I use mine for preset stage performance.
The manual is extensive if you're looking to do some serious editing or sequencing. Features : 10
Unlimited polyphony, just like an acoustic piano. The keyboard's weighted action is superior to many others I have owned.
I does have expansion capabilities but cards are becoming hard to find.
It is MIDI capable although I don't Midi mine. The keys are touch sensitive and accurate. NO onboard sequencer, so what! Expressiveness/Sounds : 9
This piano RESPONDS!!! It's easy to use the presets, and voicing is really accurate. Even the 'Tonewheel' sounds are above average when used with the chorus effect. This piano can be used for any genre of music. The effects are good if you take time to learn how to use them. It reacts OK to my playing style. 1. Torque TM150P Powered Monitor This is a 150 watt active monitor speaker with a 15" speaker, horn and bass port. As well as being a great monitor it's also serves as a decent small PA, keyboard amp or bass amp. They retail for £295 but for only £100 ono and it can be yours! If you've any questions or you're interested in either of these before they make it to eBay drop me a line. Cheers – Andy
Posted via email from Andy’s posterous
Christmas House Concert Gift – Free Live Download: Only In Your Love
December 17, 2009
Download now or listen on posterous
The final House Concert of this year was in Comber, County Down, Northern Ireland.
Here's a live recording of Only In Your Love, a 'pub/club' worship song that Shirley and I wrote for one of our 'guerrilla worship' mission trips. EnjoyP.S. There's still time to get a copy of the Mercy Tracks Me Down CD shipped for Christmas delivery – click here: http://www.andy-rogers.com/music/mercy-tracks-me-down/
Posted via email from Andy’s posterous
Christian ways to reduce stress
December 9, 2009
Found this somewhere and posted it here as a reminder to myself – thought you might find it useful despite being cheesy in places.
1. Pray.
2. Go to bed on time.
3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.
4. Say No to projects that won’t fit into your time schedule,Or that will compromise your mental health.
5. Delegate tasks to capable others.
6. Simplify and un-clutter your life.
7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.)
8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.
9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time;Don’t lump the hard things all together.
10. Take one day at a time.
11. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern,Find out what God would have you to do and let go of the anxiety.If you can’t do anything about a situation, forget it.
12. Live within your budget; don’t use credit cards for ordinary purchases.
13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet,An extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.,
14. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble
15. Do something for the Kid in You everyday.
16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.
17. Get enough exercise.
18. Eat right.
19. Get organized so everything has its place.
20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.
21. Write thoughts and inspirations down.
22. Every day, find time to be alone.
23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don’t wait until it’s time to go to bed to try and pray.
24. Make friends with Godly people.
25. Keep a folder of your favorite scriptures on hand.
26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good “Thank you, Jesus!”
27. Laugh.
28. Laugh some more!
29. Take your work seriously, but yourself, not at all.
30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).
31. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).
32. Sit on your ego.
33. Talk less; listen more.
34. Slow down.
35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.
36. Every night before bed, think of one thing you’re grateful for,That you’ve never been grateful for before.
Christian ways to reduce stress
Making disciples is better than getting converts…
December 3, 2009
I’m just back from more missional ‘guerrilla’ worship adventures in Eastern Europe and I’m beginning to understand more and more what Jesus meant when he said ‘go… and make disciples’ rather than converts.
The discipleship process doesn’t start, nor does it end, at the point when someone comes to faith in Jesus. That should happen almost as a happy by-product of the process, a natural next step when folks are journeying towards God. Here’s what that looked like for our band in Lithuania. We played in bars, homeless & addict drop ins, orphanages etc and whilst folks may have thought they were being entertained (I hope!) what really was happening was they were being led in worship. They were getting to experience His presence, to taste and see that He is good. One comment that lingered with us after a gig in a bar came from a lady whose daughter has recently become a believer. She said that when she hangs out with the Christians she experiences a real sense of peace and after our gig her whole worldview was different even to the extent that all her colours were brighter and more vibrant. She looked into her neighbour’s garden and she saw colours that she hadn’t even seen before! Sounds to me like she is being drawn closer to the Light. Knowing that we’re called to make disciples is a lot more liberating than clocking up ‘convert notches’. It means we can invite and involve people into what Jesus is already doing in our lives, in our communities. We can go were Jesus ‘is’. In his book he had a reputation for hanging out at parties and befriending the outsiders – I, for one, am enjoying hanging out with Him there too – even though it’s messy sometimes!
Let’s Get Social
'I've known Andy for 18 years - both as a worship leader in the church I attended as a teenager, and then as a friend and co-leader as we grew a little older together.
