This Sunday we started out the New Year by discussing some ancient wisdom from the book of Ecclesiastes.  I believe these simple and time-tested ideas offer the perfect strategy for uncertain times.

Here’s the original scripture:

¹ Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you. ² But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead. ³When clouds are heavy, the rains come down.   Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls. ⁴Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.  If they watch every cloud, they never harvest. ⁵ Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb,so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. ⁶ Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.  (Ecclesiastes 11:1-6)

Here’s how we plan to put those words into action.

1. Take risks that lead to long-term rewards, but don’t “put all your eggs in one basket”.  Have multiple gigs and income streams.

2.  Trust you Gut.  If it looks like rain…it probably will…no matter what your weather app says.  Use “common sense” even when culture and media say otherwise.

3.  Your situation “is what it is”.  Accept reality,stop “wishing”. Be a grown up. Don’t wait for perfect conditions to  make changes and move ahead.  They never come.

4.  Don’t try to figure everything out.  Let God be God.  Do what you know to do…and let him handle the rest.

5.  Live every day like it matters…like the boss is watching…like it’s all connected.  It does.  He is.  It is.

These are the things I’ll be considering as I make decisions at home, in work, and at actionchurch in 2012.

What’s your strategy?