It may seem a little late to say, “Happy New Year!’ but this is our first communication so far this year, so I want you to know I am personally praying for you to have an exceptional year. How’s it going so far? Have you gone through the exercise of taking time to re-evaluate where things are in your life? Did you make any resolutions?

Personally, this year, I’m skipping the resolutions. Too many times, these fall through the cracks and then just create an extra weight of guilt that I don’t need to carry around. If you made some, that’s great — this year, they just aren’t for me.

Make 2011 an Extraordinary Year

But that isn’t to say that I’ve skipped taking some time to re-evaluate. In fact, my wife and I have taken quite a bit of time to examine our lives and look at what God is doing and is leading us to do differently in 2011. We’re not finished, actually… we’re taking this slowly so that we can be deliberate and prayerful about the decisions we’re making.

Fasted Lately?

We’re thankfully surrounded by some people who have chosen to do some fasting, and while it can be extremely painful (this one included caffeine for me… youch!), it’s so valuable to quiet the soul and to break some of the habits that we don’t even know are holding us back in life. Whether you choose to abstain from all foods, from certain foods, or even from activities that are particularly pleasurable to you, this discipline alone has incredible benefits to help bring clarity and perspective to your life and make 2011 a better year.

Serve Someone Else

Fasting has a way of bringing us down a notch or two, but I can’t think of anything that will do this more quickly than setting out to serve someone else. We all know someone who could use a helping hand, and when we give of ourselves in a selfless way — especially when we’re already busy (or even overwhelmed) in our own lives — it can really help shift our attitudes and our point of view. I personally always seem to come away having learned something important, and usually feel grateful for the opportunity to be a blessing.

Developing a heart of servanthood can make all the difference in your success this year. Remember, Jesus said, “But this is not to be so among you; instead, whoever desires to be great among you must be your servant,” (Mark 10:43 AMP).

Recently, my wife came to me and said she felt like 2011 was going to be a “year of service” for us. We had already decided to take on supporting the Haiti Orphanage Project I mentioned to you just before Christmas, but after hearing her share this, we’ve prayed more about it and thought about our business:

How can we better serve our customers and clients?

This kind of thinking has already caused us to rethink some of the strategic moves we were getting ready to make and I believe everyone will be the better for it.

Who can you serve? Make it a neighbor, a homeless shelter, or go clean the toilets for your church. Whatever you do, allow God to speak to you as you demonstrate His selfless love and goodness toward someone else!

I’m looking forward to your thoughts on this. Feel free to comment here! And watch for part 2 coming soon…

Today I want to tell you about a project that is very near to my heart. I first traveled to Haiti nearly 17 years ago to do short-term missions work and make a difference in the lives of people. It’s really true what they say: you always come back changed. I’ve never been the same. The people we worked with, prayed for and ministered to impacted me far more than we could’ve impacted them.

I know you recall the massive earthquake that struck near Port-Au-Prince in Haiti on January 12th of this year. Now that the media whirlwind has died down, it occupies a little less of our attention than it did. But what a lot of people don’t realize is that Haiti is now home to nearly 500,000 orphans.

We recently got connected to an organization called Caring4Haiti. They’ve established a project to build an orphanage in Ouanaminthe (in the northeast part of Haiti).

My team and I have decided to get behind this project and have “adopted” it for 2011. We want you to get involved, too!

But rather than just send out the typical appeal, I wanted to do something unique.

Contribute Any Amount to Get Over 5 Hours of Audio!

Accessing The Supernatural: Just 1 of 5 hours of Audio You Can Get for as Little as $10!

So… we’ve gotten some great stuff together, including a previously unreleased message from the Nourish The Dream Resource Library entitled “Accessing The Supernatural.” I know you’re going to enjoy it.

Zig Ziglar

But we also contacted our friends at Ziglar, Inc. They decided to get involved and “sweeten the deal” a little bit for you. You can get some of Zig Ziglar’s most memorable, most-requested, most powerful recordings, and some practical great stuff from Krish Dhanam and Bryan Flanagan as well.

The best part? You get to decide how much you’d like to contribute. That’s right… for as little as $10 you can start downloading everything today!

We’ve committed all of the proceeds from this package to our 2011 Haiti Orphanage project, so you can feel good about contributing as much as you are able. If funds are tight, then a donation of $10 is plenty to get things started!

I’ve prepared a short video clip to fill you in on all the details. You can watch it here.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Merry Christmas,

David G. Johnson
Founder

“This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you.”
(Leviticus 16:29)

This particular turn of phrase is truly fascinating. It occurs throughout the Old Testament, turning up in interesting places. At first glance, it doesn’t make much sense to the Western reader of English translations.

“›aÌ‚naÌ‚h nephesh

In the Hebrew, the word “›aÌ‚naÌ‚h means “to humble, afflict, be humiliated, weaken oneself.” Nephesh is the word for “soul” or “living being” used frequently in the Old Testament, beginning in Genesis as God created the living beings and eventually breathed the breath of life into the clay he formed. It resulted in a “living soul” that God named “Adam.”

Used together, these two words form a Hebrew idiom or euphemism of sorts meaning, “to fast.”

If you’ve ever explored the connection between the body and the soul, you’ll know that there are lots of fascinating questions. Can the body live apart from the soul? What is the difference between the brain and the mind? Are our memories actually stored in cells?

Regardless, however, of where the lines between the two get drawn, one thing is clear: they are connected. And nothing illustrates this more perfectly than the principles of fasting. By denying oneself in one area (in this case: food), one is actually afflicting or humbling his entire person. If you apply this phrase to the more Greek concept of the soul as the “mind, will, & emotions,” it becomes even more interesting. What, if anything, competes more with the human spirit (not to mention the Holy Spirit) for clarity in our lives than our “soul?”

A Time to Fast

Given the current economic situation, the rapidly-changing business environment, and the general uncertainty that pervades much of what is familiar in this season, it is perhaps more obvious than usual just how desperately we need to actively listen to the Source of all Wisdom.

I typically like to start out the year by setting vision, striving for clarity and focus, and re-evaulating almost everything. But since the soul can be such a cluttered place — full of plans, regrets, desires, dreams, wishes and wants — this process can prove to be difficult. This year more than ever, I really don’t want to follow the leading of my own thoughts and desires. I want God’s thoughts and desires.

I knew it was going to require some additional effort. So imagine my delight when my good friend called a fast for all those associated with the congregation he pastors. And he evidently wasn’t playing games either — he called a 21-day fast. He’s using some wisdom — giving people options regarding specifically how they intend to carry it out, breaking it up into phases (liquids only, a “Daniel” fast, etc.), and even distributing some information regarding medical risks and so forth. Nevertheless, it’s a 3-week period of “afflicting the soul.”

I don’t know about you, but my soul can use some “afflicting.” I want to demote my own thinking, reasoning, and ill-informed perspective (at least relative to the viewpoint that my Father holds). I want to weaken the grip that my dysfunctions and personal ambitions have on my present and future.

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil. It shall be health to your nerves and sinews, and marrow and moistening to your bones.
(Proverbs 3:5-8 AMP)

After all, He knows what’s coming… how to be prepared… and what to do better than anyone. And He is not silent. I just tend to have too much interfering with my “reception.” I’m determined to clear the air so I can hear from Him accurately.

Care to join me?