Mrs. PIE

Navigating November with Focus and Integrity

Shelley Jeffcoat Season 3 Episode 79

Ever wondered how to keep your life's race on track, especially when the finish line feels distant? Join us as we draw inspiration from 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 to help you maintain momentum this November. Together, we'll uncover practical strategies for staying disciplined and focused on your personal and professional goals, even when distractions weigh heavy. Whether you're pushing for that next career milestone or simply trying to navigate daily challenges, this episode promises to equip you with the tools to identify your objectives and stay committed to your imperishable prize.

As we wind down the year, the importance of authenticity and self-discipline takes center stage, particularly for those in mentoring roles. Authenticity isn't just a buzzword—it's a necessity. We unpack how embodying the principles of perseverance and focus can make you a credible guide for others. With the holidays nearing, we also discuss the significance of maintaining your health and well-being, resisting the allure of excessive indulgence, and protecting your progress. Prepare for a December series that's all about hope and rest, but first, let's ensure we're finishing November strong, with clarity and intention.

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Speaker 1:

no-transcript. Good, I really need to work on the intro for November, because it's very abrupt and rude when it stops. Good morning y'all. Welcome back to another Thursday. Come out of the wilderness. We are in week two of our series called Run, and I was just sitting here as I was preparing, waiting for the video to you know, the intros and all the things to run through. I literally was just taking some notes on just a couple of changes that I want to make to what I was going to say this morning, because I was in a different mode, y'all. I was going to fight this morning.

Speaker 1:

Good morning, fabled Dr Tracy. She says it's a brand new day, thanking God for his mercy and grace. Yes, we are, and I'm thanking him right now for just my attitude shift. It is a rainy and gloomy morning here in Georgia, where I am. Lord, I thank you for you waking us up, thank you for giving us this platform, and I pray that someone will be encouraged by the word today and I just ask that you'll continue to bless us and guide us, give us your wisdom, help us to reach each other in a different way, especially in this season where people are unsettled and it feels like chaos and crazy. Many of us are just mentally, emotionally and physically tired, lord. So I ask that you'll just bless us this morning so we can finish this race.

Speaker 1:

Y'all, we're in the month of November and part of the reason why the series this month is called Run is because we're trying to close out this month. So we started out this year, our theme was SOAR and we're still leaning into what are the things that we need to do this month so we can close out the assignments or what it is that you need to do this month. I love how God works, because when he gave me the series for December, which is called Hope, again I'm starting to understand. Here we are, mid-november. I'm starting to understand why we needed to rest in December, but also rest in hope, in his hope, hope in him. So running, we're talking about running the race.

Speaker 1:

Last week we talked about renewing our focus and I'm trying to for those of y'all who listen and watch. So shout out to wherever you're catching this broadcast, whether it's in the replay or the live. Good morning and thank y'all for waking up with me on Thursday mornings. But I'm trying to adjust and make these teachings even more practical. Sometimes people I think Bible teachers. Sometimes I feel like we teach in a way that becomes so high-minded that people don't know how to chew on what we're saying. So I'm trying to break it down. Also, everyone's in a different walk in their journey with God, right, so trying to make it more practical and so that we can kind of operate differently, right? Otherwise you just go listen to it. You don't want to just listen to me preach all day, all right. So we're in the second week Again.

Speaker 1:

Last week we talked about renewing our focus I invite you to go back and watch that and then this week we're talking about maintaining our momentum. So I am going to bring up scripture coming out of 1 Corinthians. Today I'm going to share my screen. I have to say all this y'all, because I also have the audio version. So for those of y'all who are listening on Audible or Spotify or wherever you get your audio versions from, hi, y'all, hi, all. Right. So I'm in First Corinthians nine, obviously the HLE version and verses 24 through 27. Hle version is Eastern English Standard Version, esv, jokingly, y'all.

Speaker 1:

So this is the word it says do you not know that in a race, all the runners run, but only one receives the prize, so run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable running a different race. So I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air, but I discipline my body and keep it under control lest, after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified. So, lord, I ask that you'll just give us wisdom now and help us to understand this in relation to each of our own personal lives and everything that we're going through, as we're learning how to maintain the momentum this week, today, y'all, until we come back next week. And it's a different series, a different teaching, all right.

Speaker 1:

So let's break this down a little bit. The first thing is what it talks about. Do you not know that in a race, all the runners won, but only one receives the prize, and so it's so important that, as we're in this time of the month, right? So again, when we're going from week over week, so it's really focusing on what is it you're trying to achieve? What's the prize you're going after this month? What is it that you're trying to accomplish this month?

Speaker 1:

So, because I speak to a lot of folks in business, people who are business owners, people who work in corporate America or anybody literally, right, I speak to anybody. I want you to think about what it is that you want to achieve, because we're all running a race. We're all trying to achieve something. Some of us are just trying to achieve enough money so we can pay the bills and take care of our families. Some of us are trying to run the businesses and they have specific. I want to be a multimillionaire. People have different goals. Some people are running the race this month with hopes that they can be recognized on their jobs, right? Some people want to be elevated and promoted. Some of you might be searching for the job, searching for the actual opportunity. So the race you're running is to stand out, so people can see the value that you bring and hire you on. But you've got to have a keen sense of what it is the race that you're actually running and what you're trying to achieve. Because when it says only one receives the prize, think about if five of us are competing for a thing. One of us is going to win. Everybody's not a winner, right? But I just want you to pause here on this first part and just think about what is it that you want to achieve? You got to be crystal clear, otherwise you'll start doing a whole bunch of stuff, you'll start bringing people in on your special projects and ideas and you start throwing out events and doing all the things and being very, very, very busy, but you're not actually achieving the goal that you set out.

Speaker 1:

Verse 25, I love this. It talks about every athlete and so when you think about this from a sport I am not an athlete, y'all I feel like I'm allergic to exercise and bugs, but I do love gummy bears, if y'all are interested. Verse 25, where it talks about every athlete, exercises self-control in all things, and self-control is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit. So that's something that, by the nature of the Holy Spirit being with us, that's a fruit. That's a fruit, but self-control is really important. So we're thinking about self-control in all things. Self-control in what you say, where you go, how you spend your time, the things that you sign up for, the projects that you say yes to. You know, using self-control, and it goes back again. You got to have a keen understanding of what it is you're trying to achieve this month and then you need to have some kind of self-control and focus on that thing.

Speaker 1:

Now the rest of verse 25, it talks about receiving perishable wreath or perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. This is a different stance. This is more of a spiritual statement where, for those of us who are following Jesus okay, because you could call yourself a Christian but you're not actually following. So I'm talking to those who are trying to run the race following the Lord, right, that what we're trying to achieve is something that's imperishable. It's not material right, it's spiritual right. So for those of you I just want to, that's what that means.

Speaker 1:

But it says I don't run aimlessly. This is verse 26 is like if I could say there's a verse, there's a, there's a verse in the Bible that represents me and if you know me, you know for sure this is me right, I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air. I discipline right my body and keep it under control lest, after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified. So the fact that this is saying I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air. So this is just a quick note for those of y'all who have a multiple things and you're trying to do all the things. Don't try to do all the things. Try to focus on what it is that you're doing.

Speaker 1:

Pick three. I work on threes on everything. So I pick what are the three biggest things I want to do this year and I break that down in my household, I break it down on the job, I break it down in ministry, I break it down in my personal meaning, my health or whatever the things. But in that way I'm not running aimlessly, I'm not just chasing everything and I'm not responding and reacting to everything. I'm not where it says boxing as one beating the air. So it might look like I'm doing a whole ton, but it's because I'm very, very focused on the key things that I need to do and I really don't come out of that box. I don't care what you got going on. I'll high five and support you, but I'm not going to run aimlessly and do a whole bunch of stuff just for the sake of boxing. Boxing and beating the air is you know? So you ever come across people who they got everything going on, they got multiple businesses and they got all the ideas, but they have no results because they burned themselves out and they tend to lose momentum by the time they get to this time of year, because they got so many things that they're trying to accomplish so they can declare the year a winner, right. So don't run aimlessly. Focus on what it is. If it's a thing for you, maybe for the rest of the year. Focus on the thing that you want to accomplish this year, right.

Speaker 1:

So remember our theme is SOAR, spirit-led, obedient, anointed and Renewed. So it's focusing on when we said spirit led, we wanted to develop a closer relationship and build up our prayer lives, or, you know, that's part of what we do in our community. You know being obedient and listening for when the Lord is telling us to do something, even when it's uncomfortable y'all, but being obedient, because obedience does yield reward Obedient. Being obedient also requires some level of discipline. Our theme for next year thank you, lord, for dropping it in the scripture and again confirming, anointed again is understanding some of your gifts and your talents and then how we use that, whether you're using that on the job or in business, or in your community, in your home, and how we're showing up as ambassadors and all the things.

Speaker 1:

And then renewed is kind of how we close out the year because, quite frankly, many of us are tired emotionally. I'm emotionally exhausted, okay, just to be honest. So being renewed means I have a place that I can come back to with the Lord and be refreshed time and time again. So how I can do that, how we can do that together, how we maintain the momentum for the rest of this month so that we can get into the month of December, and it's more about reflecting and kind of closing things out. Not being exhausted is that you're not running around aimlessly this month, you're not just boxing everything. That pops up right Verse 27, it says but I discipline my body and I keep it under control. So I'm going to break this into two parts, because when I talk about disciplining my body now again, remember I told you we're talking practical terms.

Speaker 1:

So there are things that I've had to yield this month of November for myself y'all, because I'm trying to get back on a health journey. I'm horrible at exercising and truly I do a great job of taking care of other people, but I'm terrible at taking care of myself, and so this month I picked up a challenge of just being more consistent in exercise, even if it's 20 minutes a day on my treadmill. So I found an app that helps me to do that. I'm not going to say it here because I'm not sponsoring and this is not a sponsored video, okay but I found an app that helps me do that. So every day, 20 minutes, I can literally throw on a t-shirt and some shorts, jump on my treadmill, work that thing out, but it's disciplining my body. It's helping me to regulate my sleep better. Again, we're talking about maintaining our momentum. So if you've been on the exercise journey, I want to encourage you to stay on that, because we're also about to get into the holidays and all the foods and all the friends, right. But even during the holiday season Thanksgiving we still have to have self-control, right, and we have to be able to discipline our bodies, keeping it under control. So that's something that I think is really interesting.

Speaker 1:

The second part of this, where it talks about less after preaching to others. I myself should be disqualified, and I want to shout this out, especially to those of you who mentor or coach other people. That's really important how you show up as a mentor or a coach. So if you preach to others that they need to stay the race and all the things you know, hold on. You know you're going to do all the encouragement, all the things. If you're preaching to other people, if you're not modeling that same behavior, then you're disqualified. Okay, you're disqualified. You can't preach to other people about self-control and discipline and stay in focus and all the things that you know.

Speaker 1:

If you're paying, I'm going to stop sharing my screen. If you're paying a mentor or a coach, listen. If you're paying a mentor or a coach and you watch their uh, watch their results. I watch people's results. I will never come to anyone for advice. If you were not successful in the thing that I'm seeking advice for, I'm not going to do it. I'm never going to come to you if you've never run a project from zero to a hundred, meaning from an idea, a concept, into putting that thing into a plan and making. I'm never going to come to you for advice if you haven't played that thing out Right. So if you're paying a coach right now, okay. If you're paying a coach right now, I want you to start looking at, listen, maybe save your coin If that coach is not producing in their own lives and focus. I want us to focus.

Speaker 1:

We have a couple of weeks left in the month of November and we need to maintain the momentum. What he started, he will finish. Right, that's what the word says. What he started, he will finish. But we got to be a part of that. It's not what he started, we will finish, and it's like magic. We have work to do. So I want you to maintain your momentum. That's going to mean some of you have to take a pause and a rest. I'm going to say this. Be mad, if you want. There are many of us that are when I talk about being emotionally exhausted.

Speaker 1:

We have watched over this past year how folks can get away with some things okay, especially in the corporate world where you watch people. You know. I think midpoint during this year I started telling I have another circle of girlfriends that I said I told them mediocre season is over. We got to the middle of this year and I announced that y'all, mediocre season is over, meaning we have to step up. Right, we are not going to be mediocre, but it doesn't mean that mediocre people aren't going to pass you by. It doesn't, right. So it could be frustrating when you're watching people around you who don't produce as high as you do and yet they're either getting elevated or they're getting promoted. You just can't understand what's happening. God, why is this person getting this kind of favor? And I'm telling you, those same mediocre people that you saw in the middle of the year, they're going to shimmy up now and try to catch a part of your momentum.

Speaker 1:

So what I'm going to say to you is this I want you to guard your momentum. I don't want you to give as much as you're going to try to focus and closing out this year and pushing through the month of November. I need you to reserve that momentum for yourself, your project, your family. I want you to stay focused. There are going to be people who are going to show up and they're going to try to pull on what you have. Ok, but I need you to stay focused. So you close out. Why? Because we have a tendency to stop what we're doing so we can go.

Speaker 1:

Try to put the mask on somebody else. Every Monday and Tuesday, when we pray, I try to remind us that the part of the reason that we come together and pray is because you know, in the, in the airplanes, we have to put the mask on ourselves first before we can put it on our kids. You've got to put the mask on yourself first before you go save somebody else. So you've got to finish out what you start. And that goes back to what I said about coaches and mentors and even girlfriends and family members who are trying to encourage you.

Speaker 1:

I need to see the fruit in your life, okay, and if I don't see it, you ain't it All right. So focus, sandra is. I need to see the fruit in your life, okay. If I don't see it, you ain't it all right. So focus. Sandra's saying yes, focus, stay focused on that, maintain your momentum. It's okay to take a rest, right. So it means that there are gonna be things you can't attend. I'm sorry y'all. You can't go to every holiday party. If it's not aligned to what it is that you need to close out this month, you don't need to be there. Focus on what you got to do, okay. And also when I talk about taking a rest for yourself, so self-control means that we got to think about our hygiene, our health, right. We got to focus on our physical right now. So if you're not exercising, I'm encouraging you. If you have a most of us have an old treadmill or a bike in our house someplace get on that thing for 20 minutes, so we've got a part of maintaining our momentum is also the physical right. We've got to take care of our bodies.

Speaker 1:

I know that in the US, thanksgiving is coming up and all you know you got the whole menu and list of things that you want to eat. Now I personally cannot because of my own health issues. But maybe this is also where you, you, you know if you're focused this year, or part of the thing you wanted to do this year was have a better, a healthier lifestyle. Then y'all don't don't say, okay, well, at Thanksgiving I'm going to go ahead and eat all the butter I want. No, stay focused so that when you get to December, you're like, wow, I, you know, I did it the whole year. Stay focused on that, all right. You're like, wow, I did it the whole year. Stay focused on that, all right, okay. So I hope this helped y'all. I hope this helped y'all.

Speaker 1:

We're maintaining our momentum, we're staying focused, we're not getting involved in all kinds of distractions. All right, when we come to December, we're closing out the year with just the word hope. But we're also going to be able to celebrate December 11th. We have a free event. December 11th is a Wednesday. I believe it's 8 pm Eastern Standard, and you can find that information on graceandgroupmediacom. But that night, y'all, we're going to celebrate our wins. We're going to come and talk about you know how did you do on your vision board? You know where are you, how are you closing out the year, and we're going to celebrate everything that we've done together this year. So that's why I want y'all to stay focused. I want us to close this out this year out in such a mighty powerful way. I want us to look back.

Speaker 1:

Thank you, lord, on this year 2024, that this was the year, lord, that we planted the seeds that you gave us, lord God, that we maintained, we watered them, lord God, and we're going to harvest next year. Despite anything that happens in this country in 2025, lord God, we are already declaring that it's going to be a mighty harvest for us next year. So I thank you, lord, for everyone who's here. I thank you for those who woke up with me this morning to honor you and to thank you, lord, for what you're going to reveal to us today. I thank you for those of us who have all of the needs met everything that they need you've already provided and for those who are waiting for an answer or an opportunity. Lord, I thank you that the word is coming, that the person is coming. Divine help is coming, that they'll see that.

Speaker 1:

Lord God, would you help us to maintain the momentum so that we can finish all of these assignments, every idea and anything that you put in our hand. Lord God, we want that thing to multiply. So would you bless us, lord God, with your grace and your favor today, that every single place that we go for the rest of this month we are multiplied in our favor, in our blessings, lord God, so that when we walk into December we are celebrating you, we're just having hearts that are filled with thanksgiving, just looking back at all the things that you have done for us this year. I thank you, lord, I bless your holy name and I pray for every person and family represented under the sound of my voice that maybe today they're encouraged to stay the race and stay focused and keep the momentum. For those who are tired, lord God, would you connect them to resources so that they can get on the exercise path. Lord God, help us in our diet what we eat, not just what we put in our body, but also what we watch and what we listen to. Lord God, would you just give us peace right now For every person who's under the sound of my voice. Would you give them peace, lord God, so that we can close out this year and even put joy in our heart. I'm excited for what's happening for all of us. I'm excited for where you're leading us and taking us. I'm excited for the harvest that you have prepared for us in 2025, but we still have to close out this year so that we can reap next year. I thank you, lord, and bless your holy name. Amen.

Speaker 1:

Ain't that awesome y'all. He's so good. I know this teaching's good y'all, because I'm feeling it in here. Y'all are so good. All right, y'all. Don't forget today's Thursday. We have our phone line. You can call us for free one o'clock and seven o'clock, if you have. We're also praying over those who have substance abuse, or maybe you're taking care of someone who's gone through substance abuse, or maybe you're taking care of someone who's gone through substance abuse and you could lift. You could use some lifting. So, one o'clock and seven o'clock, eastern, call us. You see the number on the screen. So y'all have an amazing day. Please don't forget to like and share the video, because that's how we get more people to see it. And also, if you're on Facebook, tag a friend. Y'all don't be selfish. Tag a friend, all right, I love y'all. Have an amazing day. Jesus loves you more and I will talk to y'all next week. Bye.