Hello friends,
Greetings from Austin!
This past Sunday, my hometown church in Dallas celebrated the college and high school graduates of 2020 by hosting a virtual + in-person graduation ceremony, and it was phenomenal!
We had a commencement speaker, social distancing chairs, lots of toasting, graduation hats designed for toddlers (that the 18-24-year-old graduates wore), and a community of church friends and family gathered to bless and celebrate the graduates transitioning into either Zoom University or the Zoom working force.
I got the wonderful opportunity to help plan for the event logistics, and though I was unable to join in person for the day of the event, I got to host the virtual session for those who couldn’t join physically.
And the perks of hosting was getting the best seats in the house. 😛
Unfortunately, I was the only one who dressed up for the zoom call 😅 But you do what you gotta do to stay in the vibe of blessing 😄
(Creds to @weslolo for the photos)
Because of COVID, I was able to reconnect and serve alongside my home church peeps.
And though this unique opportunity will not last forever (especially as commitments pick up with my church in Austin), I’m glad for these moments and hoping that whether it continues or ends, that much would’ve been learned from each other.
On another aside, I’ve started to read Christian liturgies as I’ve found myself needing to get back into devotions with God. After completing the New Testament last week, I found I had to address my intent in reading the Bible:
Why was I reading His Word?
Were insights from readings turning into action?
Or was it just another task to add to my checklist of things to do for the day?
I recognize this pattern in everyday life; the constant battle against distractions to have the best intentions in what I do, and to continue to be okay with the direction headed.
Like with starting this newsletter, I had many reasons for starting it:
To reflect on my faith and the past week.
To share insights on what I’ve learned.
To share my unique stage of life (Christian, ministry leader, software engineer, new-grad).
To aggregate and share resources pointing towards Faith, Entrepreneurship/Leadership, and Productivity.
But things like analytics easily heighten my desire for newsletter subscriptions and viewership. These things easily guide me away from the initial intentions of learning to a numbers game and popularity contest.
This is why reflecting and being able to redirect and point back to the Why of anything is important. Or else the core purpose will be lost.
What is your Why for the things you do?
How are you keeping with it, even when it’s hard?
Thanks for tuning in with me! Please stay safe my friends and keep on pushing through.
If you have any prayer requests, let me know, and I'll see y'all in the next update!
Weekly Collections
Faith
This video really reminded me of the verse:
“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
—Proverbs 16:9
The plans we may have are nothing compared to what God ultimately dictates, but when we believe that He has our good in mind, there is no reason to fear. The dreams we have will seem big, but they are tiny compared to the outcomes God desires to exemplify.
In the end, a very humbling 30 minutes of a sermon I would recommend watching.
Weekly Reflections
Mental Model
Bottlenecks and Constraints
A bottleneck describes the place at which a flow (of a tangible or intangible) is stopped, thus constraining it back from continuous movement.
As with a clogged artery or a blocked drain, a bottleneck in the production of any good or service can be small but have a disproportionate impact if it is in the critical path.
However, bottlenecks and constraints can also be a source of inspiration as they force us to reconsider if there are alternate pathways to success.
—(Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions)
How to apply the mental model:
What are bottlenecks in my work, social, or personal life that is stopping me from my goals?
What change must I make in order to reach my goals?
Verse of the Week
“Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety”
—Proverbs 11:14 ESV
Challenging Quote
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
—Winston Churchill