iWork4Him PowerThought

When was the last time you pushed yourself to do something that made you uncomfortable at work - whether volunteering to learn a task outside of your usual job duties, offering to take on a new project, or making friends with another employee? Moving outside of your comfort zone may feel awkward or stressful at first, but it is also the best way to grow! And in order to become a mature person – pe...

We live in a busy world. If we aren't in a meeting, or working on a project, or going to an appointment – we are looking at our phones, or answering emails, or hopping on a video conference. Technology has made work accessible ALL. THE. TIME. Not just from nine to five. But as Mahatma Gandhi once said, " there is more to life than increasing its speed." So, how about you? Are you running so fast t...

When you have a major decision to make or a faced with a "fork in the road" in your career, whose opinion do you seek out first? Do you ask your friends? Your partner? Do you make a list of pros and cons? Do you just avoid it? Although we've all probably done each of these things, there is a BETTER way: ask the one who already knows everything about your past, present, and future. When we get on o...

How do you define success? Being promoted? Achieving a certain number of social media followers? Reaching a particular income level? Well, Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines it simply as, " a favorable or desired outcome." Take a moment today and consider how God's desired outcome looks different than the world's. In Matthew 22, Jesus tells a lawyer there are two main things we should desire in...

Matthew 5:14-16 says, " You are the light of the world… No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. " When you go to work, do you switch off your faith? Do you put your belief under a bowl? O...

The workplace is the largest mission field in the world, yet many Christ-followers don't engage in their calling as missionaries because they don't know how to share their faith at work. Fear around rejection, offending someone, or saying the wrong thing are just a few of the barriers that prevent believers from bringing the good news of the Gospel to their coworkers, employees, and clients. But h...

If I had one hundred dollars for every time someone said, "I want my life to have a purpose, so I am thinking about quitting my job to go work in a church or Christian nonprofit" I would be a very, very rich man. There is a myth that has been circulating through theological communities for decades: that in order to have a Kingdom impact, you have to work in a four-walls church, a ministry, or a fo...

Most people consider a vocation to be a career that they feel a strong draw towards or that they are particularly suited to. But as Christ-followers, we look at vocation a little bit differently. Dr. Chip Roper from the Voca Center in New York talked with us recently about the biblical view of vocation, which is simply a divine call to God's service or to the Christian life. From this perspective,...

65% of the population will never go into a four walls church – that means that over half of the people in the U.S. will never hear about Jesus from a pastor or dedicated ministry. BUT here's the good news: almost everyone will be employed during their lifetime, which makes the workplace one of the LARGEST mission fields in the world – a place where we, as ambassadors for Christ, are given free acc...

Have you had a performance review in the last year or two? If you have, how did you do? Did you need improvement? Did you meet expectations? OR did you EXCEED expectations? Because here's the thing: when you do good at work, people notice. Your quality of work is, in itself a witness to who God is… a God of goodness, of care, and of EXCELLENCE. Colossians 3:23 says, "Work willingly at whatever you...

Every paycheck you've been putting a little away for retirement. But once that money enters your 401K, what happens to it? Well, usually it gets invested into a whole bunch of companies. But did you know that many of the companies you may be investing in are actually supporting activities that blatantly go against Scripture! Proverbs 16:8 warns against this by saying, " Better is a little with rig...

God formed Adam and Eve on the sixth day of creation… making their first full day in the Garden of Eden the Sabbath – a day of REST. God is gracious so He didn't start them out on a Monday … instead, God emphasized the importance and holiness of spending time in his presence FIRST, before the work week begins. He asks us to look to him FIRST. Rest in Him FIRST. And only then, after worshiping, res...

What is the first question someone asks you after an introduction? I'd be willing to bet that 9 times out of 10 its "So… What do you do for work?" That question may feel fine and dandy when you are in a high-powered position or working your dream job – but for most people it's uncomfortable to be instantly framed by their employment OR lack of employment. We live in a society that equates our valu...

Have you ever tried to ignore God's direction in your work or career? Tried to follow your own plans and run into constant obstacles, closed doors, and un-ending rejections? The truth is that sometimes we try to LOGIC our way towards our calling instead of entrusting the creator of our calling with the journey to it. Remember the account of the Israelites in Exodus? It took them 40 YEARS of wander...

A company we love, and one you may have heard of, called Dayspring, helps direct their branding by asking the question, "what do we want people to walk away feeling after they've encountered a Dayspring product?" Do we want them to feel seen, loved, or encouraged? And what can we do to make customers want to return after an encounter with our products? These kinds of branding questions aren't just...

We all have a calling, have you heard this before? Some of us get called to the pulpit and some to the foreign mission field but most of us get called to our cubicles, construction sites, care facilities or whatever your job site may be. Your Workplace, It's your mission field and in that mission field, you and me, we may be the only Jesus our co-workers, employees and bosses may ever meet. That J...

All of us need to feel appreciated, especially at work. But not everyone feels appreciated in the same ways… So how do we value our coworkers, employees, and bosses in ways that are meaningful to THEM? According to the book, the Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, one way is through acts of service . You may be thinking, "I work all day, isn't that enough?" But let's be honest – you g...

All of us need to feel appreciated, especially at work. But not everyone feels appreciated in the same ways… So how do we value our coworkers, employees, and bosses in ways that are meaningful to THEM? According to the book, the Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, one way is through appropriate physical touch … emphasis on the APPROPRIATE. Physical touch in the workplace is a "touchy"...

All of us need to feel appreciated, especially at work. But not everyone feels appreciated in the same ways… So how do we value our coworkers, employees, and bosses in ways that are meaningful to THEM? According to the book, the Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, one way is through spending quality time with the people you work with! But what exactly IS quality time?  It's as simple...

All of us need to feel appreciated, especially at work. But not everyone feels appreciated in the same ways… So how do we value our coworkers, employees, and bosses in ways that are meaningful to THEM? According to the book, the Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, one way is through giving them gifts that show they are a valued and seen member of the team! And before you freak out abo...

All of us need to feel appreciated, especially at work. But not everyone feels appreciated in the same ways… So how do we value our coworkers, employees, and bosses in ways that are meaningful to THEM? According to the the book, the Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, one way is through words of affirmation . And I'm not just talking about saying, "nice job so-and-so". PAUSE Instead,...

In today's culture, respect for our elders and wisdom, has been replaced by idolizing youth and outward appearances. As Christians, we believe that ALL human beings are created by God in His image. Therefore every person has inherent dignity and creator-ordained worth. To be created in the likeness of God means that each  person bears His image and with it, a value beyond our unique characteristic...

I heard recently from a retired army guy that he was taught to run TOWARDS the problem, not away from it. .... I wonder how many of us run towards OUR work problems vs. away from them.   Perhaps we think "confrontation" is un-Christ-like…but how did Jesus deal with problems? With the woman at the well, He confronted her, asked and answered questions. In the temple, He confronted with over-turning...

I recently had my concept of "neighbor" challenged. Does neighbor mean only the people in my neighborhood? The ones we live near? Actually, in a broader sense, it is anyone "living or located near another". That means the folks all around us at work, in the next cubicle. The teacher in the next classroom. The person exercising next to us at the gym. Our neighbors are everywhere and the Lord had a...

Workplace politics. If you're working, you're involved in them. And as Christians, we don't have to disengage just because the term is distasteful. "Workplace politics" are the strategies people use to gain advantage for themselves or to support a cause. What if, we employed biblical wisdom and strategies to deal with the politics? .... such as Matthew 10:16  " I am sending you out like sheep with...