Don’t Settle For Satisfied.

February 10, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.” Ephesians 5:17 MSG

Are you settling for satisfied? Satisfied sounds like a good thing, and it is to a point. But is satisfied fulfilled?

Satisfied is content with the current status. Is that you? Is that enough? There was a time in my life when that was me. I was satisfied but within was an unrelenting awareness that there was more. Satisfied may seem like enough, but is it achieving all that you are meant for? I knew that I wasn’t but wasn’t sure what to do next.

Fulfillment results from doing what you were created to do. Fulfillment comes from being the best you. Fulfillment is found in divine potential. That unrelenting awareness began to dissipate as I set out to pursue my purpose and potential.

Doing what is on your task list may seem like enough. When you check off each task you may feel satisfied. I know I do! But are you fulfilled? I knew I was not.

My challenge to you, Dear Friend, is to reach for fulfillment. Don’t settle for satisfied.

Why?

What Do You Want? Productivity or Fruitfulness?

February 3, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.” Ephesians 5:17 MSG

What do you really want to accomplish with your time and how will you know when you are accomplishing it? Are you managing your time so that you are fulfilling your purpose?

Here’s a revelation for evaluating your time management. Time management is not about getting more done. Wow! How’s that for a shocker? That contradicts so much of the internet’s time management advice. So, what does it mean to manage time well?

Using time well isn’t just about being productive, it’s about being fruitful. The Industrial Revolution changed the way people think about productivity. Instead of the fruitfulness associated with an abundant harvest, as our agricultural-based society of the past viewed it, it became about doing and making more.

Fruitfulness depends on factors outside human control. It depends on factors that only God controls. Productivity is all about self-reliance and man-made options. Productivity treats people like machines that exist to make more. Fruitfulness is about fulfilling a God-designed pattern to the fullest— seed, soil, sun, rain, growth, harvest. There are few things that humans can do to control those. We can only add to what depends on the God who controls nature. Fruitfulness has to do with growth and purpose.

Know Your Purpose. Plan Your Time.

January 27, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.’ Ephesians 5:17 NLT

How often are you distracted by something that is calling your attention away from what you really want to be doing? Perhaps you are in the middle of deep work on a passion project. All the gears are clicking. The ideas are flowing. The strategy to accomplish this long-held dream is pouring out onto the page or your hands are busy creating what you see in your imagination. Then the phone rings. You hesitate for a moment and then you answer it.

The telemarketer on the other end of the phone doesn’t care that he just interrupted a moment of Spirit-inspired genius. He doesn’t care that you were in the middle of coming into the light after years in a tunnel of doubt. He is just trying to do his job, which is to convince you to buy what he is selling. An item you don’t need or want — like a new satellite TV system or gutter guards on the house that you added those to three years ago. All he cares about is selling to you and he doesn’t take no for an answer.

Finally, you realize that the only way to end this conversation will be to hang up on him. You hate the idea of that rude action, but there doesn’t appear to be another way. Your stomach is in knots. You politely tell him that you need to go and then you hang up the phone.

When you turn back to your project the gears that were clicking are still and silent. Your mind is a blank and your stomach is still in knots. All forward motion has ended. You decide that it's time to check the laundry, or some other everyday task, and walk away from your desk feeling defeated and frustrated.

Answering that call interrupted what you really wanted to be doing, what you feel called to do, and you wonder why you even answered it!

My friend, there are legitimate interruptions that have the same effect on your progress. Those are the ones you have to accept, resolve, and then do your best to get back on track after. Those interruptions are immediate and important. Like a backed-up drain that needs a plumber’s attention. I found myself in that position this week after an “aha” about what was preventing me from moving forward on a passion project. Even though I was motivated to move forward I had to stop. There was nothing else I could do about that. I didn’t have a choice about that interruption. However, you and I have control over plenty of the things we allow to interrupt us, like phone calls and text messages to name the most frequent offenders.

When you and I interrupt the important for the immediate we often squander one of our most valuable resources: TIME. What if there is a better way? Would you take it?

Small Changes, Big Payoff

September 23, 2023 Cathleen Zahradnik

“What is impossible for people is possible with God.” Luke 18:27 NLT

How intentional are you with your rhythms? You have rhythms. Routines, if you prefer. I wanted to avoid using that word. “Routines” carries the context of mundane, repeated, boring. But here’s the thing about intentional routines. They are designed, not haphazard. And they are designed with goals in mind. Intentional routines —rhythms— are strategically designed with an end in mind. These rhythms are put in place as guardrails to keep you on the road toward achieving your goals, discovering YOUR more, and fulfilling your divine potential. There is nothing boring or mundane about these repetitive activities! They are all about forward motion, not mere maintenance. So, how intentional are you with your rhythms?

Intentional rhythms are exciting and productive. They are worth taking the time to design. So, think about those goals you took the time to set and the new habits you want to introduce. Now is the time to design the rhythm where those habits will fit into your life. Start with just one area you want to work on. Taking action on your dreams means having a plan.

Take the Time to Make the Time

August 19, 2023 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 ESV

Time. Is it your enemy or your friend? Do you find yourself struggling to find the time to do the things you want to do? Does time seem to be slipping away, the future becoming now without anything to show for the past? I’ve got you, my friend!

Time. We all have the same amount, but some of us seem to make more of that time. Some of us seem to be accomplishing our goals and dreams. Some of us just seem to have more time.

Well, it isn’t true. No one has more time than you do. They are just using their time in a way that enables them to get done what they want to do. They are discovering their more in the way they use their time. Wouldn’t you like to do that, my friend? Okay, then! Let’s get started!

August 8, 2026

A - C = P: Anxiety - Control = Peace (Repost)

'Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. ‘Philippians 4:6-7 MSG

I was listening to a podcast when I heard a quote that brought so much clarity, I couldn’t get it out of my head. Here it is: “Anxiety results from wanting to control something God has not given us to control.” I didn’t remember the name of the person or why she was on the podcast, but what she said made so much practical sense. (I looked it up later. So, if you are interested, it was Joanna Weaver’s podcast, The Living Room, and the guest was Sharon Hodde Miller, author of The Cost of Control: Why We Crave It, the Anxiety It Gives Us, and the Real Power God Promises Us.) As I pondered her statement, a formula took shape in my brain, “A – C = P,” Anxiety – Control = Peace. Easy to remember and a goal worth aiming for.

Anxiety is something we all experience. Anxiety steals peace and commands focus. Whether it’s something personal about your family, or a job, or something broader like politics and the world situation, anxiety creeps up behind us, leaps upon us and gets us in a stranglehold. Ever feel that way?

Your brain goes in circles, trying to resolve something you are powerless to resolve. You can’t sleep and every waking moment is consumed with mental and practical fruitless attempts to solve the problem. Suddenly, it seems like nothing else is happening in your life. What started as a thought becomes a huge shadow. What do you do?