"The Sojourner" (Jan 2007)...
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THE
SOJOURNER
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Inspiring Hearts Toward Authentic
Transformation
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January 2007
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Welcome to 2007! I pray this will be a year of profound,
life-giving transformation for you and those you love.
OK,
wait. Wow, that's a pretty heavy prayer, isn't it? Profound, life-giving transformation? Woo. Is that possible?
Is that what I even want?
Well,
check it out: If you knew you could experience profound, life-giving
transformation in your life this year, what sort of transformation would
you want? What part of your life do you most want to see transformed?
It's
looking more and more like this will be a year of profound transformation
for me as well. One of those changes you can see in this month's Sojourner.
My company name and structure has changed. Expanded, really. What was
"Eaglesong Coaching & Consulting" has now become the
"Ascent Coaching Group Inc."
I've
made the change to accomodate the growth in my coaching work and to set the
stage for more growth this year. Like all transformations of this sort,
it's both exciting and a little terrifying. A corporation? Me?
By
God's Grace--you bet!
Welcome
to the Ascent.
Contact Me
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Coaching
Corner: Charting Your Relational Universe
It's not an understatement to say that the quality of your relationships is
critical to your life success. This is especially true of the relationships
that fill your "inner circle"--that is, the handful of
individuals who know you best and whom you respect and value the most in
your life.
As important as your inner circle may be
to you, it can be difficult at times to accurately measure just how those
key relationships are going. How healthy are your key relationships--really? Which aspects of the
relationships are inspiring your forward, and which are holding you back?
Defining the current status of your
relationships can be like trying to define the size and shape of a forest
while standing in the midst of the trees. So here's a fun and revealing
exercise that I use with clients to help them take a fresh look at their
"inner circle" relationships from high up...and I mean really high up!
You'll need two sheets of paper, a pen,
and a bevy of multiple-colored markers. It's helpful if the second sheet of
paper is much larger--like a sheet of paper from a flipchart (you'll see
why in a minute).
On the first (smaller) sheet of paper,
make a list of the five or six most important adult relationships in your life
(your kids don't count...unless they're grown up!). This list should
include only those people whom you consider to be a part of your
"inner circle"--the people who know you best and whom you most
respect and value in your life.
When the list is complete, set it to the
side and pull out the larger sheet of paper. In the center of the paper,
draw a small circle and write your name in the middle of it. Imagine this
is you--the "sun" in the center of your own universe. Then use
your imagination to create your own personal "relationship solar
system"--one that reflects the closeness of relationship you have with
each of the people on your list, and the way they typically
"orbit" your life.
For example, a very close, trusted friend
with whom you have regular deep talks might be illustrated as having a
tight, circular orbit that is very close to you- -something like the planet
Mercury does with our sun in real life. Conversely, a friend that you have
a deep conversation with once every year, but otherwise rarely connect
with, might be illustrated as having a wildly elliptical orbit around you,
coming close on occasion but spending the bulk of the time far away--
-something like Haley's Comet does with our sun.
Those are just examples to get you
started. But keep in mind--there's no need to obey the laws of physics
here. You might have a person/planet who simply "hovers" some
distance away and never orbits you at all, or you might have two
people/planets in your life who are constantly colliding with one another,
and their debris keeps raining down on you. Feel free to create it in a way
that works for you. The sky's the limit! (Pun utterly and unapologetically
intended.)
After you've completed your personal
relationship solar system, take yourself on a personal tour of your
relational universe.
- What do you notice as you look at your
relationships in this way?
- What surprises you?
- What alarms you?
- What delights you?
- What needs to shift or change in your relational
system?
- What will you do this week to move toward making
that change?
My thanks to The
Center for Right Relationship, whose terrific material on relationship
systems forms the basis for this exercise.
Want to explore this further?
Click here...
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The
BraveHeart Fellowship
Imagine a group
of men who come together under the banner of a common hunger for their
Bigger Purpose. They are already leaders—every one of them. But
they want more from their lives. They want more from themselves. They are
weary of the ordinary, the settled, the small—and are ready to
embark beyond their comfort zone and into the uncharted territories of
their hearts. They are ready to face down their own personal Balrog. They
are ready to put their faith...to really put their faith...in God. They
may not know where this road of challenge will take them. But one thing
they do know: Living small isn't enough for them anymore. They MUST be
what they CAN be...not only for their own sakes, but also for their
families, and for the world itself.
And so they agree to walk together
through a 9- month journey of extraordinary transformation. They become a
BraveHeart Fellowship—a
circle of nine men who are hungry for authentic transformation, for real
abundant life. The Fellowship is no run-of-the-mill accountability group.
It's way beyond that. It's like the Fight
Club of the Heart. It's like the Band of Brothers for the Soul. These leaders may or
may not know each other before the journey begins. But that doesn't
matter—because by the end, they will know every nook and cranny of
their fellow warriors' souls.
And more importantly, each and every one
of them will be irreversibly changed forever by the journey. Sure, their
lives will be better—much better, in fact. But it's not only about
that. They will be changed for the good of the world. And for the glory
of God.
Now, imagine yourself in a fellowship
like that. If you had a cohort of fierce-hearted men standing at your
side for the next nine months, watching your back and cheering you on,
what would be possible for you? What potential, what calling, what
greater purpose might (finally!) be unleashed?
Interested? Learn more
here...
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Yep, you guessed it! It's Finally Done!
After months and
months of waiting, and a marathon of patience and support from you, the
last word of my novel, Waymaker,
was finally typed into the computer at 10:57 pm on Friday, January 12th,
2007.
Oddly, there were no peals of thunder, or
angels singing (that I could hear). Just a deep sigh of relief. And
multiple waves of gratitude.
The manuscript is right about 570 pages,
which is right where I wanted it to be. It's 40 chapters. Do I sound
like a new parent giving out stats on the baby? Why, yes. Yes, I do.
So what's next?
• Update the glossary & map
• Submit the manuscript to a national contest
• Sign the book to a new publisher, along with the first book, Gideon's Dawn
• Dive directly into the third and final book in the series, The Final Word.
• Once the publisher sets a schedule, let everyone know exactly when the book
will be available for purchase. (As soon as I know, you'll know.)
I'll keep you posted on the next steps as
they unfold, so just keep reading The Sojourner, and watching my blog
online.
You guys are the best. I wanted you to be
the first to know. Thanks!
Want to learn more about my
writing? Click here...
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7
Practical Steps for Naming Your Purpose and Charting a Course to Make It
Real
In this 8-week teleforum journey,
Michael will personally walk you through his proven Visioneering process
that will break you out of stuck patterns of behavior, reawaken your
heart’s capacity to dream, guide you to create a crystal-clear
vision for your future, and provide practical tools for stepping up to
the bigger life you were created to live.
* You'll discover your deepest life
purpose, and describe it in detail.
* You'll transform your dreams into specific, clearly-defined visionary
goals that you can and will achieve.
* You'll forge accountable friendships with others just like
you—people who've had enough of living small, and are committed to
stepping up to the life of their biggest dreams.
* You'll learn practical tools to move beyond the obstacles that have
historically stopped you from your goals.
* You'll "plan for success" by designing a practical,
personalized road map to get you from where you are to where you want to
be.
* You'll move from what you want to do to what you will do.
* And much more!
THE NEXT 8-WEEK SESSION:
WHEN: Mar/Apr 2007
COST: $250
CLASS SIZE LIMIT: 12
Contact Michael for more
information...
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"We
are in the process of being unveiled. We were created to reflect God’s
glory, born to bear his image, and he ransomed us to reflect that glory
again. Every heart was given a mythic glory, and that glory is being
restored. Remember the mission of Christ: 'I have come to give you back your
heart and set you free.'"
—John Eldredge
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