Friday Faith Foundations - Prepare Our Hearts for Jesus
12/08/23 • 9 min
Yesterday morning I emailed a list of gift ideas for business owners and shared a few of our family traditions. As I was typing the list, it made me realize how much focus we, as a society, have on gift-giving, pleasing others, and focusing on things that don't represent the true meaning of Christmas. It made me re-think the real meaning of the season, to prepare our hearts for Jesus.
Why should we prepare our hearts for Jesus?Oftentimes, especially for business owners and entrepreneurs, December is a time of reflection on what goals we met, what goals we didn't meet, how much money we made, and/or how many clients we had. All of this, in addition to purchasing gifts, pleasing others, and even wanting more for ourselves.
Christmas is more than all of those things. December is a good month to reflect on more than goals, revenue, and gifts. It's a time to prepare our hearts for Jesus and receive His grace, the true meaning of the season.
Evaluate before you celebrateI always encourage my clients to evaluate what they do. What worked, what didn't work, what went well, what could be done differently to be better next time.
Preparing our hearts for Jesus is similar, but way more powerful.
Throughout the year we make many decisions, some good, some not so good. Because we are human, we sin and do things that may have hurt someone else, or ourselves. It's easy to hold onto guilt and shame when we focus on what went wrong instead of what went right. But 1 John 1:9 reminds us that if we confess our sins, we are forgiven. We don't have to hold on to the past, or the shame and guilt of past decisions, experiences, or mistakes.
Christmas is a beautiful time to not only reflect on what's been good or bad but to prepare our hearts to receive the gift of Jesus. Imagine the sacrifice God made to send Jesus to earth in human form. And he did it all for us.
I love the Christmas song, Mary Did You Know by Pentatonix. The first few verses bring tears to my eyes. You can listen to the song on Spotify or wherever you listen to music.
Read the full show notes and access all links.
Want the gift list?If you'd like to see the Christmas list I referred to above, send me an email at [email protected] and I'll send it to you.
Yesterday morning I emailed a list of gift ideas for business owners and shared a few of our family traditions. As I was typing the list, it made me realize how much focus we, as a society, have on gift-giving, pleasing others, and focusing on things that don't represent the true meaning of Christmas. It made me re-think the real meaning of the season, to prepare our hearts for Jesus.
Why should we prepare our hearts for Jesus?Oftentimes, especially for business owners and entrepreneurs, December is a time of reflection on what goals we met, what goals we didn't meet, how much money we made, and/or how many clients we had. All of this, in addition to purchasing gifts, pleasing others, and even wanting more for ourselves.
Christmas is more than all of those things. December is a good month to reflect on more than goals, revenue, and gifts. It's a time to prepare our hearts for Jesus and receive His grace, the true meaning of the season.
Evaluate before you celebrateI always encourage my clients to evaluate what they do. What worked, what didn't work, what went well, what could be done differently to be better next time.
Preparing our hearts for Jesus is similar, but way more powerful.
Throughout the year we make many decisions, some good, some not so good. Because we are human, we sin and do things that may have hurt someone else, or ourselves. It's easy to hold onto guilt and shame when we focus on what went wrong instead of what went right. But 1 John 1:9 reminds us that if we confess our sins, we are forgiven. We don't have to hold on to the past, or the shame and guilt of past decisions, experiences, or mistakes.
Christmas is a beautiful time to not only reflect on what's been good or bad but to prepare our hearts to receive the gift of Jesus. Imagine the sacrifice God made to send Jesus to earth in human form. And he did it all for us.
I love the Christmas song, Mary Did You Know by Pentatonix. The first few verses bring tears to my eyes. You can listen to the song on Spotify or wherever you listen to music.
Read the full show notes and access all links.
Want the gift list?If you'd like to see the Christmas list I referred to above, send me an email at [email protected] and I'll send it to you.
Previous Episode
Can you market your business without social media? with Meg Casebolt
Market your business without social media and improve your mental health.
It is possible to grow your business without social media. You can market your business without social media and build a successful, sustainable business.
Is investing in social media worth it?At first, Meg used a Facebook group to market her business, get clients, and serve her community. But then she realized that because of the algorithm she was losing money on the Facebook group. When she evaluated the metrics, she was losing money. So you let her social media manager go and forgot to post. Maybe not the best strategy, to just walk away without an announcement, but when she did, nothing changed in her business. She continued to attract clients and make money. The bottom line, Meg created content for people who already knew her instead of for an algorithm.
From there Meg did an experiment, which is what marketing is, experimenting to see what works to attract clients. Meg mentioned that Robyn and Meg were introduced by Michelle Mazur. Learn more from Michelle by listening to episode 119.
There is more to digital marketing than social mediaYou can market your business without social media. There are many other ways to market your business whether you are an online business or brick-and-mortar business.
And if you decide to leave social media, invite your followers to join your email list to stay connected and continue to learn from you.
The effect of social media on mental healthWhen you are bombarded with bro marketing and the glamorous life of success so many people post about, you can become intimidated. Comparison and imposter syndrome can result in fear, doubt, anxiety, and depression.
Keep in mind also, that when you spend a lot of time on social media and give a lot to your audience, when they become a paying customer, they will expect much more from you. Set boundaries so that followers will recognize your expertise and respect your time. Boundaries are key for time management and maintaining a healthy mind and positive mindset.
The more followers you have, the more demand on you and your time. Keep that in perspective as you set goals to grow your follower counts.
Read the full show notes and access all links and additional resources.
Download the free eBook, 10 strategies to grow your business without social media.
Next Episode
Grow your network to create opportunities with Ellen Poole
Connection is critical for building relationships, growing your network, and increasing opportunities.
Success is achieved through building relationships to grow your network of like-minded people who will support you and further connect you. Opportunities arise through connection and relationships.
Strategies to employ to build relationships and grow your network- Be good at your job - every person you come in contact with appreciates you and understands that you provide the value they need. In other words, they see that you understand their needs and provide for them.
- Be interesting - what makes you unique? Share personal things to help you stand out, maybe that you have a dog.
- Join organizations to demonstrate your skills by helping them and building relationships.
- Don't only try to meet important people. You never know when someone might be important in your life. Someone may be important, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are going to be important to you or in your life.
- Focus on building relationships with people who are different than you.
- Follow up - connect and then build and maintain relationships
- Interact appropriately
- Be sincere - don't be too calculated
- Have fun while building relationships and growing your network
Put yourself in the shoes of other people. Ellen shared the example of the contractor who removed her popcorn ceilings and how he went above and beyond what Ellen expected or hired him for. When you put yourself in other people's shoes, you'll think of and do little things that make a difference in their lives.
Don't make assumptions about what people needInstead of making assumptions about what people need, get to know them and approach your relationships with empathy. Think of the big picture, not necessarily what they come to you for or what's on the surface. Ellen shared the example of the law student and creating wills. Building relationships is about creating an emotional connection.
Don't make assumptions. Get curious and ask questions from a place of empathy and people will appreciate you and want to continue building the relationship with you. They will see you as providing true value.
Be good at your job and provide additional value and people will understand what's in your heart. They will then want to recommend you and share you with others. In addition, the relationship and further connections and relationships will develop naturally.
Read the full show notes and access all links and resources.
Intro to SEO for Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners
Learn more about Click Automations.
Coupon code Robyn for 15% off Ellen's book.
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