December 2007

Dianne E. Butts...equipping you to make a difference in our nation.

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Dianne E. Butts equipping you to make a difference in our nation

December, 2007

Equipping You to Make a Difference

Goals and Plans for the New Year

With Christmas on its way, a new year also approaches. It's a great time to let our minds wander and dream about all the things we'd like to accomplish in the coming year. Do your plans and goals for the new year include speaking out to make a positive difference in our nation? Defending our Christian faith and our LORD? Speaking up at every opportunity?

It's one thing to dream and plan. It's quite another to actually do it.

So if we want to actually speak out in the coming year and make a difference, what can we do to make that a reality? If we don't make concrete plans and goals, we will likely not accomplish them.

One of the best ways I've found to actually get done the things I want to do is to make reasonable plans and goals to do them. Then I review these plans and goals periodically throughout the coming year to see if I'm meeting them.

Why not think about what goals you'd like to make for the coming year? And then plan how you will accomplish those goals. Here are some simple ideas:

Weekly

Stay up do date on what is happening in our nation. This may include reading a newspaper, listening to a radio talk show, or reading blogs on the internet.

Monthly

Write one letter on an issue of importance...even if just for practice. This may be to the editor of your local newspaper, to a state or US politician, or to a producer of a movie or the writer of a TV show.

Bimonthly

Mail at least one letter or send at least one e-mail message to an editor, a politician, or an entertainment executive.

Quarterly

Find a way to speak out about your Christian faith, whether through writing a letter, speaking out in public, or discussing your faith with a friend, neighbor, or family member.

What stops you from speaking out? What are your obstacles? The first step to overcoming obstacles is identifying them.

If you find you often have good intentions but rarely make good on them, you'll want to read the "Making a Difference" sidebar story below where I discuss this very dilemma.

I hope you'll join me in speaking out in 2008. Until then, have a blessed Christmas season and a wonderful New Year holiday.

Section 2:

A Little Something Extra

"What Stops You? (And how can you overcome it?)"

Do you have good intentions about speaking out, and yet you just don't get it done? Do you feel overwhelmed by all the things you'd like to accomplish, but it's just too much--even with planning and goal-setting, there's simply more to do than you can possibly get done in a lifetime...or two?

And yet you want to speak out. You want to make a difference. You want to write your politician. Or a letter to the editor of your newspaper. Or you saw something on TV where Christians were portrayed badly and you want to write a television producer or writer. And yet that's just one more thing on the to-do list.

How do you sort it out? How can you decide what to do...and what to leave undone?

I've been thinking about this issue a lot lately. While talking with a friend recently, she told me, "I've been meaning to subscribe to the newspaper and start writing letters to the editor, but I just haven't got it done."

I understand completely. My own list of things I'd like to do is long. I, too, want to speak out...write letters...etc. I try. But some things just don't get done. Why is that?

There are probably a lot of reasons, but here are some I've been thinking about:

	We're trying to do too much. It's simple, but hey, it's true. Each of us can only do so much, and if our lists exceed our abilities or available time, some things simply aren't going to get done.
	We're doing too many things that are less important or unimportant. Now don't misunderstand. We all have tasks we'd rather not do. And we all have mundane tasks that simply need done for daily life. I'm not talking about these necessary items. I'm talking about the time and energy we spend doing things we've been roped into...or we've volunteered for...or are expected of us...or we do because nobody else will.
	We're trying to do things that are not within our strengths. Now I know we all must do things that lie outside our strengths; no one can work exclusively within areas where we excel. Again, daily life demands we do things we're not good at. However, when we can work within our strengths, we are energized and can make far greater progress toward a goal.
	We're doing things God has not intended for us, individually, to do. In the Bible, Ephesians 2:10 tells us, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (NIV). When we spend our time and energy doing things God has not intended for us to do, we cannot complete the "good works" God has uniquely prepared for each of us to do.

So, if these are some of the problems, what can we do about them? Here are some thoughts:

	We can review all the things we're doing. Make a list. What can you cross off your list? What are you doing that overburdens you but isn't necessary for you to do? Ask: Is doing this task keeping me from doing what I really love?
	I don't believe doing a task simply because no one else will do it is a good reason. Neither is doing something only out of obligation or pressure from someone else. Ask: What would happen if I didn't do this? Also ask this key question: Can someone else do this task? If yes, then it is not something you are uniquely qualified to do. If someone else can do it, let them.
	Which items on your list make you tired just thinking about them? Which make you anxious? These items sap your energy before you even work on them. They get put off because you don't really want to do them. Then why are you doing them? If they are necessary for your family, that's one thing. But if not, then this is a sign that you may not be working in your strengths. These items in our thoughts often start with "shoulds" and "oughts." "I ought to write a letter my US Representative." "I should write a letter to the editor." Maybe writing letters isn't your strength. If you absolutely hate writing letters, why are you telling yourself you should write letters? Perhaps your strength is going down to the city council meeting and speaking up, like residents recently did in Fort Collins, Colorado, when the city wanted to ban all religious Christmas decorations (including colored lights--only white lights would be allowed) from government property. I was so proud of (and so grateful to) those Christians who went to that meeting and spoke out! Now that would not be in my strength to do. What are your strengths? What energizes you? How can you use your strengths to speak up for Christ?
	Also ask yourself if you are trying to do something God has not uniquely called you to do. Ask: Is this keeping me from doing what I know God has called me to do? Usually, I believe, God calls us to do things within the strengths He created in us...but not always. Sometimes He calls us to do things we do not want to do. Moses didn't want to go before Pharaoh, but he did it anyway.

As you think about making goals and plans you'd like to accomplish this coming year, prayerfully pursue those things God has uniquely equipped you to do for His kingdom.

Q & A:

Q: I don't like the messages of movies like Redacted, Lions for Lambs, and The Golden Compass. What can I do?

Dianne: There are at least two ways to "vote" on entertainment products:

1.) you vote with your dollars when you buy a movie ticket, DVD, or when you watch a TV show...or when you don't. So don't "support" movies which give messages you don't like by going to see them, and make sure your friends and family know the content of these movies and what you find objectionable.

2.) you can send a letter to the producer, production company, and/or writer. If you wish to write a letter, you can find addresses for many of the major movie production companies and television networks on the Entertainment page of www.ButtsAboutIt.com.

Section 3:

No Buts About It:

I know what you're thinking. "Sure, I want to speak out and make a difference in our nation, but I don't have the time." I understand. It's hard. We're all busy. And speaking up for our nation, for God, takes time. How can we get it done?

I've found that often when I don't get done the things I want to get done, it is because I have not planned out the time when I will do it. When will you make time to speak out--to write a letter, to send an e-mail, to compose a letter to the editor? Will you pencil in an hour on Friday? Block off Tuesday mornings? When will you schedule the time you need to make a difference? When you have the time scheduled to do it, make the most of that time.

You can do it! No buts about it.

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Bio:

Dianne E. Butts has had more than 200 articles published in over 50 Christian magazine such as The Plain Truth, the Salvation Army's War Cry, The Lookout, Light and Life, and Focus on the Family magazine. She has contributed to fifteen books including Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul 2, What I Learned from God While Cooking, For Better, For Worse: Devotional Thoughts for Married Couples, Zondervan's New Women's Devotional Bible, and A Cup of Comfort Devotionals for Mothers and for Women. Her writing has been published in Great Britain, Bulgaria, Poland, Canada, and Korea.

Dianne wrote her book, Dear America: A Letter of Comfort and Hope to a Grieving Nation (Ampelos Press, 2002), in response to September 11th to tell her own story, help others get through grief, and discuss topic like who the Muslims are, the story of the Bible, and Bible reading for beginners.

When she's not writing, Dianne enjoys riding her motorcycle with her husband, Hal, and gardening with her cat, P.C.

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	Published monthly (by the last Friday for the following month).

Subtopic 1:

Quote:

"At this point, many of you are asking--what can one person do? The threats are myriad. The challenges facing our country daunting. The simple answer is that one person can do a lot."

Laura Ingraham in Power to the People, page 92.

My Book:

Dear America, - A Letter of Comfort & Hope to a Grieving Nation

Subtopic 2:

What's new on

www.ButtsAboutIt.blogspot.com ?

	What's this talk of "Gog" and "Magog"?
	Have you heard about the movie, The Golden Compass, which releases December 7th starring Nicole Kidman? Please become informed about this movie before you buy a ticket or take your family. Learn more on the November 26th post of www.ButtsAboutIt.blogspot.com.

What's new on

www.ButtsAboutIt.com ?

	A whole new look! Stop by and check out the new www.ButtsAboutIt.com
	New this month: Addresses for major movie production companies and television networks.
	Links to write your Representatives and Senators.
	Archives of Butts About It.com E-zine with how-to articles, tips, and Q & As.
	Be notified when I post to my blog! Enter your e-mail address in the FeedBlitz form on www.ButtsAboutIt.blogspot.com. ~ Dianne's Writing News:
	My article, "The Tabernacle: Silhouette of the Messiah's Work," which appeared in the July 15th issue of The Lookout is currently online at: http://www.lookoutmag.com/articles/articledisplay.asp?id=346
	An excerpt from Dianne's book, Dear America, titled Dear America: Under God You are a Blessing" appears in the new book, Secure the Fort: A Military Mother's Message to America (page 106-07). Secure the Fort (And Remain Under God)

Interested in writing for publication? Get your free subscription to Dianne E. Butts About Writing at www.DianneEButts.com .

Subtopic 3:

Coming next issue: Discouragement and the Power of Encouragement

Resources:

Recommended Books:

The New Temple and the Second Coming by Grant R. Jeffrey

The New Temple and the Second Coming: The Prophecy That Points to Christ's Return in Your Generation

Power to the People by Laura Ingraham

Power to the People

Religion of Peace? Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't by Robert Spencer

Religion of Peace?: Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't

A Conservative Voice Equipping Conservative Voices

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