Stopping-over and Moving Forward

Over the weekend, I went to Baguio through a 7-hour bus trip going there and another 7-hour trip riding with friends going back to Manila. My favorite parts of the trip are the stop-overs. Besides getting a good stretch and a rest room break, I can take a snack and buy some things I forgot for the trip.

Stop-overs. In our life do we have stop-overs? Is our life in a constant rush?  The opposite can be, "Are we stuck in a stop-over?"


Some reflections on moving forward in life:


1. Life is a marathon, not a sprint.  In a sprint, you give it all you've got from start to finish since it has a short distance. In a marathon, you pace yourself, taking important breaks to regain strength for the long haul. Some give up in running the marathon, some pursue it until they reach the finish line.  We aim to reach the finish line. "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14).


2. Rest if you must, but never give up. It is natural to get tired specially after consecutive days of pressure and concerns.  Maybe because of our lapses in prayer or a lack of focus, we get burned out.  If we are certain that we are doing what the Lords is calling us to do, then we are to be faithful.  We can take our time to cry and heal, but we must pursue the mission.  Like a bow, it's string has to be loosened when not in use, otherwise it will affect its effectiveness.  Have a stop-over, relieve the stress, retreat into prayer, and regain your strength.


3. Move forward with the Spirit.  In the journey of life, we encounter crossroads. We make decisions, some of which are life changing.  How much prayer do we put into our decisions?  Where is God leading us?  We must realize that each of us has a God-appointed mission on earth.  Will our decision bring us closer to His mission for us?  Many of us just make a pros and cons table and weigh our options.  We can be practical thinkers, but we have to also take into consideration the important aspects like family time, service to God, and how our talents and gifts contribute to building God's kingdom.  Some of us cannot decide and we get stuck in our "stop-overs." Let us move forward knowing in our hearts where the Spirit is leading our lives.


The journey to Baguio and back was long, but the trip was worth the trouble because of the destination. All of us are in a bus ride towards heaven.  It's a long ride, at times frustrating, but we have to set our hearts "heavenward" and be led by His Spirit to get there.  And yes by His grace, we will get there.

Translating Vision Into Reality

I love this definition on leadership by Warren Bennis, an American scholar and pioneer of  the field of Leadership Studies. He says, "Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality."


When leading, many of us get caught up in the details.  And usually, our energies are drained in these details that we lose sight of the bigger vision.  We need to empower people who can manage these "details" and focus on making the vision into reality.  Thus, for us to be on track in leading, allow me to share my recent learning:

1. Draw a Road Map. Begin with drawing up the vision (which is the destination of the road map), then work backwards to where you are now.  Working backwards means to continually ask, "How can the vision be achieved?"

2. Look for People who can move you Forward.  We enlist the people who can best deliver the requirements to move us forward in the road map.  Many times we commit the mistake of getting the people first and trying to match the task.  We have to define the task first, then look for the people who can achieve it.

3.  Empower Your Team. It is important that your team embraces the vision and knows exactly how they are contributing towards it.  Teamwork and trust helps us move forward faster. As Covey would put it, "The Speed of Trust."

4. Apply Kaizen. Kaizen, a japanese word means "Change for the better."  As we strive towards our vision, we seek for continuous improvement. We can apply the PDCA cycle which is, "Plan-Do-Check-Adjust."  Using this cycle, we are able to enhance our methods and advance further towards our vision.  We do all these in prayer with the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus came from heaven to earth to save us from our sins, to set us free (Luke 4). This was His vision, His road map while on earth.  He called the 12 apostles and empowered them.  He died for our sins, and brought salvation to mankind. And before ascending into heaven, he tells His apostles, "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father (John 14:12). Jesus tells them that they will do greater things (like Kaizen) because the Father will send the Holy Spirit.


Christ has called us to lead with vision. Let us once again fall in love with the vision that we have and share this romance with those we lead.

"Past" Forward

Lately, I find myself watching the History Channel a lot and reading books about the past.  There's just so much  nuggets of golden learning from our history.  The best way to really move forward is to understand the future in the context of the past.  Well, the past can either drag us or catapult us forward. 

What is about the past that can drag us?  It is when we cannot accept our failures, when we do not learn to forgive (others and ourselves), and when we miss to see it as something that will prepare us for the future.

What is about the past that can catapult us forward?  It is when we pause and reflect of our learnings from a mistake, when it humbles us, when the compounded experiences are translated into applied wisdom.

In the Holy Bible, the whole Old Testament is in preparation for Who is to come, Jesus Christ.  It is a vital element to understanding the fullness of the New Testament. Otherwise, we will not be able grasp our salvation history.  He said to them, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing (Luke 4:21).”


When Steve Jobs resigned from being the CEO of Apple, I was able to review his Standford Speech to graduates. He enumerated many of what seemingly were failures, but instead became the reasons for his future success. He was an adopted child, a college drop-out, ousted from Apple in the 80's and back again, and had a rare type of pancreatic cancer. But these sad experiences led to studying calligraphy which became the reason for clear true type fonts of the Mac, finding two companies (neXT and Pixar) that contributed greatly to Apple's innovations, and a passionate outlook to live each day as if it was his last.  He mentioned about "Connecting the dots," and that you can only connect the dots backwards.  So as you read this blog post today in whatever seemingly hopeless situation you are in, it is going to connect to something great in the future, as long as we keep our faith in Him strong.

"For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope (Jeremiah 29:11)."

Those who are great visionaries have a deep appreciation of the past and have a good sense of the present.  Let us then gain from the experiences of those who have gone before us.  Let's reflect on our own mistakes and do better next time. More importantly, look to the future with the humility Christ has shown us.