Cedric Dukes's Blog, page 10

June 3, 2018

Faith and Hope Collides

Without faith, there is no hope. Faith and hope intersect at a point. When faith collides with hope, then the reality of what one believes in happens.  Keep hoping for those things that are larger than yourself. This is where one truly believes that this thing is bigger than him.   Hope is bigger than what you can accomplish own your own. Faith and hope are necessary ingredients for God to exceed your expectation.

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Published on June 03, 2018 13:46

Allow God to do it

Sometimes we don’t necessarily see the work that God has already done in the back ground. I sometimes think He is not doing what we asked. But all along He is placing people in my path, situations and experiences. He is  doing more than we can ever imagine. He is talking to someone about you.  He is directing and guiding and preparing  a situation that we can never imagine how to resolve. Let’s just resolve right now to allow God to do it for us. We don’t have to worry about the result but we have to work the process for it to happen which is by obeying what he says.  


We are not responsible for the results. The process of believe and action is ours.  

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Published on June 03, 2018 13:44

May 24, 2018

May 23, 2018

Budget Your Time

Have you ever tried to resurrect time? Resurrecting time is harder than catching a fly. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. You can never get it back. Time can never be controlled; the best way is to manage it. Managing time is similar to managing life. Like life, managing time requires planning, patience and attention to detail. Managing your time requires you to judge yourself. By judging, I mean to critically think and ensure that you are getting the most out of your time. There are only 24 hours in a day, and we have to ensure that we make the best of it.


We are stewards of time. A steward is someone who manages and provides oversight of an entrusted valuable possession: your life. No matter your thoughts, your life will be critically judged by your Creator on what impact you have.


To better track your time, I have created a time tracker. A time tracker tracks your time on a daily basis. It takes the daily activities of the day and tracks the activities by the number of hours. This allows you to understand the amount of time that you spend on certain activities.


Let’s look at the first column. Identify and track the amount of time that you spend on activities of the day. For example, let’s track the amount of time that you spend on email.


Simply jot down the number of hours that it takes you to go through email. Another example is the amount of time that you spend on the telephone talking to friends.


The next column is identifying and selecting activities that increase your personal productivity. Look at the activities that give you the greatest impact. Look over the daily activities and determine what activities will spur you to meet your goal.


In this column, I am asking you to strategically think about the things that will increase your productivity. You must look at everything with an inner eye. That inner eye is your spirit. Jesus said in John 6:63 that the Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are full of the Spirit and life. Your spirit is integral in you; it will tell you when you are wrong, and it will tell you when you are right. It is this barometer that tells you when you’ve had enough of something.


Once you’re done selecting activities, begin to increase your time in those activities to bring about the desired result. Again, you are putting the focus on the right activity. Let’s go back to our email example. Not that emails are bad, but you may spend too much time on it, which will limit your time to tackle work. Ask yourself, “Was it important to answer all my emails at that time? Could I find another time period to check it?” To answer the question, you need to decide the importance of the email – whether it is work, play or personal – and its importance. Look at the time that you spend on email and integrate it in your most productive time or in your less productive time, depending on the importance.


We have to look at our activities like a financial budget. Just like a budget, we have activities of income – productivity – and activities of expenses – less productivity. The sum of the two determines your productivity, positive or negative.


The time tracker will point, identify and address your problem areas. Once you understand your problem areas, you will see the change in yourself and in your progress. Use the Time Tracker for the next couple of weeks. See how much your productivity is impacted.


Time_Tracker

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Published on May 23, 2018 17:31

It’s ok to fail

Failing is ok. It keeps you grounded but you must be determine not to do it again. It’s not ok not to succeed; there must be some action behind it to plan for success. You are not responsible for the results. You are only responsible for what you do in the process. God will make it what he wants it to be.

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Published on May 23, 2018 09:22

May 15, 2018

Life is a Series of Mountains

Life is a series of ups and downs. Its full of mountains that must be crossed. There are mountains of finance, mountains of strained and broken relationships, mountains of heartbreak and etc. All of these mountain experiences build upon the other. It may shape itself as something different but at the core it is the same and you can apply the same lessons and principles as before to cross them.   


I have walked the same mountain twice in a certain situation. I did not realize the second time around as I was a mess trying to conquer it.  But the third time I shortened the mountain trip by allowing Jesus to direct me and allow him to move the roadblocks. I can say now that I have matured and not fought the mountains by itself.  

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Published on May 15, 2018 19:20