Category Archives: Spiritual Growth

Posted on

Remember… You Are Beloved!

sunrise-forest-you-are-beloved

The term “Beloved” means to be greatly loved. 

No one can love us like God. For He is Love as scripture describes.

God is love. 

1 John 4:16 NIV

God spoke the world into existence with love. Jesus is the greatest expression of God’s love for us. For those who believe and accept Him as their Savior, embraces the truth that His great love can live in us.

You, me, we… are His beloved children, undeserving of God’s love yet chosen to receive it.

So, in the midst of everything going on in the world today... the unknown, the uncertainty, and in the midst of any anxious thoughts, worries or fears, remember this…

You Are Beloved!

Hold on to this truth and be transformed by God’s Word as it declares that we are beloved, purposed, and cherished children of the one true God.

A Few Verses to Meditate On…

We love because he first loved us. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” – John 15:9

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. – Matthew 11:28

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. – 1 John 4:18-19

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” – Ephesians 2:10

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” – John 10:10b

May God’s peace and protection be upon you and your family! ~ Tom

Trusting God during trials and in challenging times is not easy. And I don’t want to come across as having all the answers because there have been times when trusting God has been a struggle for me. But over the years I talked about those struggles along with some of the life lessons I’ve learned, and you can find those posts here.

Posted on

Remembering The Point Of Christmas

Point-of-Christmas-Tom-Martin-Coaching

It’s easy to lose sight of the point of Christmas amidst the hustle and the bustle of the holiday season.

This is the time of year where Holiday activities and seasonal to-do lists capture our attention and occupy our time. Surf the internet or turn on your television and you’ll be bombarded with all sorts of Christmas messages. But somehow in the midst of all of those messages, the point of Christmas can be lost.

In fact, even the Pope “tweeted” his frustration, saying the point of Christmas has been taken hostage by worldliness.

Pope-tweet-point-of-christmas-hostage

In society, the majority typically rules in establishing culture. This dynamic is certainly in play when it comes to how we view Christmas. And in recent years, culture has had a knack for trivializing the momentous, ignoring the profound, and embracing the superficial.

• We’ve marginalized it.
• Simplified it.
• Distracted from it.
• Established laws against it.
• De-emphasized and blurred the core point of it.

I serve on board of One Thing for Men, a ministry designed to help facilitate men’s group Bible gatherings. For December, we created a three-week message series and men’s group discussion curriculum focused on the Point of Christmas.

In the message series, Executive Director Ron Dunn, reminded everyone the Point of Christmas originated with God, way back in time. God invented Christmas and there is only one message that really matters.

It’s a perspective and truth that we can’t afford to miss. Fellow board member Jeff Brethauer and I had the opportunity to share when we got the point of Christmas. You can watch the message by clicking the image below. 

Point-of-Christmas-Tom-Martin-Coaching

In a recent devotional, Rick Warren shared the point of Christmas is quite simple:

You believe, and you receive.

You believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins, and you receive him into your life.

God sent his Son to Earth 2017 years ago to die for you. That’s God’s very first Christmas gift, sent to you thousands of years before you were even born.

Merry Christmas!

~ Tom

Posted on

How to Stop Indulging Your Limiting Beliefs

The struggle is real. And with the dawn of each new day, our confidence must do battle with the limiting beliefs that echo around in our heads.

Confidence-over-limiting-beliefs-Tom-Martin-Coaching

If you look at the image above you’ll see an assortment of limiting beliefs I’ve heard in the course of my business coaching and life coaching with clients. 

According to Wikipedia, a Belief is the state of mind in which a person thinks something to be the case, with or without there being empirical evidence to prove that something is the case with factual certainty. 

Our beliefs can either be empowering or disempowering. And over time, because our actions or inactions follow our beliefs, they will create our reality. 

So if the battlefield is our minds, what strategy can we use to silence our limiting beliefs, gain confidence, and achieve more in life and in business?

Posted on

One Thing for Men Presents – That Day

that-day-bema-seat-leveraging-life

That Day is a play about Daniel Scott Mathewson who has been pursuing the American Dream since graduating from college. His lifelong focus centered on the next deal, the next promotion, the next bonus, and how far and fast he could climb the corporate ladder.

Today Daniel is on the cusp of achieving everything he’s ever dreamed of…right up until the plans he had for his life comes to a screeching halt as he suddenly faces the reality of eternity.

Our endless pursuit of aspirations, goals and dreams come with a price, one which is paid by our family, friends, and co-workers if we are not careful. 

One Thing Men’s Ministries is excited present a performance of That Day at Independence High School theater in Alpharetta, Georgia on Saturday November 8th at 7:00 pm.

Posted on

Catalyst Conference

leverage-your-life-now-friday-favorite

On Friday I feature a website or a blog that for me has become a favorite. It maybe a favorite resource, a source of inspiration, or just some distraction I frequent. Give the Friday Favorite a look, read, or listen, and please share your favorites in the comment section; who knows maybe it will be the next Friday Favorite.

Since inception, over 90,000 leaders have made the annual trek to Atlanta to participate in the Catalyst Conference experience, and this October, once again over 12,000 leaders will gather to experience Catalyst up close.

While I know not everyone can take the time off from work to attend the conference, the Catalyst team generously makes a great deal of their content available for free to those with a visit to the Catalyst website podcast section. So if you lead an organization or aspire to a leadership position in any organization you need to be visiting Catalyst each month.

One quick scan of their podcast page lists includes the likes of Rick Warren, Tony Dungy, Seth Godin ,Malcom Gladwell, John Maxwell, Dave Ramsey, Craig Groeschel, Erwin McManus, and many more.

For those who desire to lead effectively and leverage their gift of leadership I can think of no better resource available to address such a broad variety of topics like organizational leadership, personal leadership, integrity, character, relationships, and teamwork; all in the midst of such a fun and creative environment.

After you have a chance to check out some of the podcasts, leave your comments, leadership takeaways, and a recommendation of which podcasts really meant the most to you.

~Tom

trusting God period!!

Programming Note: Be on the look out for part one of a series of posts called Life Lessons-where the focus revolves around how I’m leveraging my faith in the midst of cancer.

Did you know there is a way to receive Leveraging Life | Now updates via email? All you have to do is click here to subscribe. (It’s free)