Introduction

Thank you for joining me today on vision to reality, we are in the series, the promise of purpose, which is really based on my new book that just came out and I am so excited about what we’re going to talk about today is really going deep into chapter 10. 

Today I’m going to be sharing with you four keys to help us be successful in our walk, to our purpose in our destiny. That really goes across anybody’s purpose. So these are really standard things that we can all tap into no matter what we’re called to do. And they are based on a foundation in the word of God. So here are the four that we’re going to be talking about. 

4 Keys

1.   Be a finisher.

2.  The law of attraction and favor. 

3.  Keep financial reserves. 

4.   Ask questions and be a life long learner.

Today we’re going to talk about being a finisher. This is one of those keys that I’ll tell you. If you get this early or you get this, you know, really at any time in your life. But really if you begin to be committed to being a finisher, it is going to set you apart from so many people on this earth. And I would love to tell you that I’ve always been just great at finishing things, but you know what I haven’t, I’ve had to learn it.

  BE A FINISHER !

And first of all, I needed to understand the value of being a finisher. So I’m going to be sharing a couple of stories with you, but also in the Bible, we see that it is something that’s very, very key and Jesus is our best example of being a finisher. Okay. Let’s let’s start out. I’m going to give you a statement here and you might want to write this down.

Ideas without actions will not yield results.

 Ideas without actions will now yield results.  Another way to say it:  Ideas with actions will yield results!

If you don’t quit, you win. You are created to bring things to the finish line. You know, when we think about a race, whether it’s a car race, a foot race, marathon, whatever type of race, that is the only way that you can win a race is to go across the finish line. And even if we’re not number one coming across that finish line, there is still something about whether I’m in second place or even last place finishing the race. And so being a finisher can start with small things.

And as we set that as a standard in our life, it seems like it opens up a lot of doors of opportunity. It’s something that’s recognized. If people want to get something done, they look for that trait in us, that character trait of being a finisher here is a scripture that I’m going to share with you to just start this out, to lay a foundation in the word of God, it says this, I have fought the good fight I have finished the race.

I have kept the faith. This is Paul speaking, and this is in 2Tim 4:7 
in the ESV. Let’s look at that again. I have fought the good fight and you know what, when we pursue our purpose, when we walk with God, if you have made that commitment Brady period of time, you know that sometimes it can be like a fight. It can be a fight of faith. We can run into some resistance, and it can just simply even mean a temptation to step outside of God’s best for our life. Maybe find a shortcut or try to do things our way or the world’s way instead of God’s way. And so this doesn’t mean that it’s a physical fight. It just is a fight. Sometimes it’s a fight to stay in peace. I’m kind of in that situation right now. I like to put myself in situations where I lean into God.

You know, we have risks. That’s involved with anything that we step out to, either fulfill our purpose. Maybe we’re an entrepreneur. there’s so many things in life that we just won’t experience without some form of risk. So for example, right now we have one of our properties on the market that we just finished and did a flip and it’s been on for a few days and you always hope you get an offer right away. Right. and we haven’t, we haven’t received an offer yet, but it’s like that fight of, finding peace. 

And so I’ve even talked to the Lord about it, like, okay, Lord, what’s going on Do we need to do something different with the property And I just keep getting, it’s going to be fine. He’s bringing that right buyer. And so for me, if I wake up in the morning, thinking about that is really a fight internally to stay in peace, which means I need to keep my trust focused on the Lord.

Karen’t book: The Promise of Purpose

So it can mean that in oftentimes that is the fight that we are talking about. Another one is sometimes we have experienced symptoms, maybe there’s a sickness or disease. that’s tried to attack your body and it’s tempting to get disappointed, frustrated, and especially when you’re in pain, but there is the truth that by the stripes that wounded Jesus, we are healed and made whole, and in that situation, it’s a fight to be able to stay focused on the word of God and the truth that I am healed, even amidst, symptoms or something that’s a pain or, or something that’s uncomfortable. 

So those are just some examples of that. First part of I have fought the good fight. The next thing it says in this same scripture, I have finished the race. Wow. That means that he just felt confident that he had walked out what God called him to do.

Finishing the Race

And so he said, I have finished the race. That is a really good feeling. I remember in high school, I was in track, not, not for a lot of years, but I would maybe go out for it maybe at, not at the next year. It wasn’t super serious about it, but I felt like it was something to challenge myself with. And I would do something called the four 40, which those of you that have been in track, you know, that’s one lap around the track. And it wasn’t very comfortable because I had to keep up something for, you know, it’s not like a one minute race. You have to keep, going for a period of time. So it really pushed me. And there are times it’s like, why am I doing this And I was clearly not going to win. So do I really even need to finish the race, but I did.

And I’m glad that I did because there’s something about us training ourselves to be a finisher to finish the race in. There are different types of races that we might say, maybe it’s a race to get a project done. It doesn’t mean that we’re out competing in a certain race that we’re trying to go for speed, but it might be a race that, that we’ve got before. And it’s just, maybe it’s a house project. maybe it’s something where you’re pushing through something at work. It could mean many things. But Paul said here that I have finished the rate race. And then he said, I have kept the faith, kept his trust in the Lord, kept the faith, stayed, with his walk with God. So this is a really great example for us to look at in being a finisher also, who is the best example for us for a finisher.

Jesus

Of course it is Jesus. And I’m going to read this scripture to you. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said it is finished and bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. That’s in Joh 19:30, in the New King James translation.   
Recently, as I’ve just been studying this out, I was preparing with a book and really reflecting back on my life. I saw that this was such a key area that when I was committed to finishing things, it seemed like promotion would come or doors would open as a result of that. And I am going to share some of those experiences with you, but the revelation that I had, or just kind of, I’m sure I understood it, but for whatever reason, it just really hit me deeper is that Jesus went through so much on this earth. He was born a baby. He had to learn and discover who he was, the journey that Jesus took.

He was a carpenter for a period of time. I am really looking forward to learning more about what that day to day was like for him when he was on the earth. he suffered a lot. He, he was persecuted in, of course he had to, you know, go on the cross. I mean, I cannot imagine it’s just unfathomable what he went through for us. And I just had this understanding that if he had done all that maybe went 90% of the way, 95% of the way we wouldn’t have what we have in Jesus today. Jesus was a finisher and his journey was anything but easy. And I think that example is we can put forth so much effort. We can put a lot of hours, years into a book or a project, but if we don’t finish, we are not going to see the reward of our effort.

And just thinking about the life of Jesus and all the experiences that he had in realizing that had he not got to this point that he finished, all of that would have been for nothing. you know, or just from my knowledge, it appears it would be for nothing. It certainly wouldn’t have done what it accomplished, what it did accomplish through him, finishing meaning that we’re able to be connected with God, our father, that we’re able to receive the righteousness of Jesus, that we’re able to walk in what he did. And it’s because he finished his race on the earth. Amen. 

A “Grandma” Story

I want to share a story about being a finisher in my life. So when I grew up and I actually share more about this in this book, because it just really was an important thing that I realized that for us to complete, you know, our life and look back on it and say, wow, Lord, I did the best I could.

And in reach the destiny that you have for me, I would go to my grandma’s when I was a little girl, grandma, Julia, I was really close to her and we lived about maybe 28 to 30 miles away from my grandma’s farm. and it was just such a special time. We would pretty go there every Sunday and have roast beef and, you know, go pick, things in the garden. I remember going down in her cellar and being able to pick out, you know, the peaches that she canned, or vegetables that she can. but I would go out and spend days at a time with her. And one of the things that really impressed me about my time is we always had a project going. My grandma, Julia lived until she was about 87 and she, her mind was sharp. She was always active with a positive attitude and she was always doing something productive and she loved to quilt in the sow.

So when I would go out and spend time with her, we were either baking something. we were, you know, making a craft. We were sewing something. We were always doing something productive. And I love that. And I would maybe go home with a project or I would help her with a quilt and we would maybe tie it or I’d watch her tie it. And it was just so satisfying because once it was done, it was something that we could display. She used to make my clothes for me when I was a little girl and I just loved that I could pick out material and a pattern. She would even make matching dresses for me and my mom. And it’s just amazing that you’d start out with this bolt of fabric. And then at the end of a day or two, you’d have a dress.

and I still carry that through today. I’d love to sew curtains and in runners and things like that. It’s just something about finishing a project. Well, I would be all excited when I would leave grandma’s house and I would get home and I’d want to start a big project. I remember I wanted to do a cross-stitch project because I had learned from her. So I went and picked out the most amazing cross ditch project. It just looked wonderful. The problem was is that it was so complicated. I wouldn’t finish it. So I would put hours and days of work in, and then I’d maybe be about halfway through and I’d get bored or it wasn’t working the way I wanted to. So I would set it aside and put it in a bin. Well, you know, I had put a lot of time into it, but I never had the satisfaction if I didn’t finish the project of actually framing it and putting it up on the wall to enjoy.

So that’s just an example. I’m sure we’ve all had those situations. What really impressed me. And at some point I realized that if I’m going to really do what I want to do in the earth, or maybe really get that promotion, I’m going to have to learn to be a finisher. 

My Banking Days

So I’m going to share an example of my banking days with you that really hit home with me and really helped me understand what a wonderful trait being a finisher really is. And I was 25 years old and I had been blessed to be hired, to run the biggest branch office of the bank that I worked at. So it was about a hundred million in size at that time. And I had several employees, and you know, everybody that was in that office for the most part, except for maybe a couple of tellers were all older than I was.

So that in itself was really a leadership lesson for me. But I remember, a time that the upper leaders, the CEO, the COO, what we would call the C leaders, executive leadership were coming to visit my branch. And it was any Dynam, Minnesota. 

So we got all prepared for them to come and visit the branch, got everything cleaned up. And they asked me to walk with him, around the branch office. So we came in from behind the teller line and they were asking me about the drive-thru and, because it was the biggest location and we were growing. They really felt like they wanted to invest in expanding the drive-thru. So one of the questions they had is how many people come through the drive-thru and I could give them a ballpark, but they really wanted me to keep track of that and report back on the traffic and the number of people, customers that we had in the drive-through to help us assess and make a decision of how much we want to invest, or how many lanes.

And so we continued on, the visit or the tour, and then they went into a meeting and one of the back offices at this location. And I didn’t really think about this, but I just kind of naturally went over. I talked to the tellers and I said, Hey, let’s we want to keep track of this. We want to look at expanding the drive-thru. And so I just put together this sheet where I put the categories down and I asked the team to just like, make a mark, you know, every time that somebody would come through the drive-through. So we did that and we had it taped on there and I really just thought, okay, great. I’ll just get this going. And then I’ll send it to them. Well, they came out of the meeting and they wanted to go back and look at one more thing.

So we came back behind the teller line and they saw that sheet of paper. And I, I felt like I accomplished quite a bit at that job, but I’ll tell you, this was one of the things that impressed them in even amidst all the other things that I could look at and say it was an accomplishment. This was something that was very memorable to that team because I heard what they wanted. I just took action on it right away. And it, it really instilled trust, even more trust, in them with me because I heard what they said, I got on it and I was making it happen. So that is just like a little thing. At least it felt like at the time, but it really solidified my career with that organization. So hearing what the need is, you might look at this in context of, our purpose.

So the Lord Jesus, like he’ll give us an idea, something that you might want us to do, maybe in our prayer time, in the morning, we just ask, what would you have us do today He’ll give us something to do. And, you know what, when we get that done, we show ourself faithful to God. So he knows that when he gives us those assignments, like the drive-through was a little assignment, but it showed that I was able to handle it and would follow through. I believe it’s very similar with us with the Lord when he gives us something small to do. And we are faithful to accomplish that. We’re faithful to be a finisher we grow and we begin, we begin to be in a position where he can even give us more. Amen is very, very exciting. This is something too that I think we can teach and train our children.

If we can help them to be finishers, they will be us stand out and they will move forward in life with that accomplishment, that satisfaction of knowing that they finished what they started. let’s go on to this scripture too. And this really talks about, us being aware when we take on a project or when we hear an idea that we need to take time to understand what it’s going to take to complete it. And this is a very important practical step for you and I being able to be a finisher here it is. This is in Luke 14:28-30 in the ESV. And it says this, for which of you desiring to build a tower does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it. Otherwise when he is laid a foundation and he is not able to finish all who see it begin to mock him saying this man began to build and was not able to finish.

Scripture

Wow, this really shows like this is something that is important for us in our life is to be a finisher. So, there’s some keys in here. And as we go back through this and sort of break apart this scripture a bit to better understand what it’s saying, for which of you desiring to build a tower does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it. Sometimes we want to take on really big projects. just like I was describing with the cross ditch, I should have gone with just like a little cross ditch that I could finish, but instead I wanted the big complicated ditch, right Well, I had, I followed this scripture and really thought about if I had what it takes, finish it, the answer would be, no, I didn’t have what it took. I didn’t really understand.

And this is something for us too. There’s a lot of things that are fun for us to dive into a lot of things that we know God would have us do, but we need to first understand the process and make sure we have the resources which could include finances, the commitment, sometimes it’s people around us. And a lot of times, for me, it’s the time to be able to complete it. Dave has been really helpful for me with this when I get ideas or when other people come to me and say, Hey, Karen, can you help me with this Or, can we get this project going I want to do everything. And especially at the moment, I just have one of those personalities that everything sounds exciting and in fun when it’s in that vision to reality space for me. So Dave has been really, really good at saying, you know what, Karen let’s think about this.

I don’t always like to hear it. But for example, when we did the flip, he’s like, how much time do you have, what is this going to take How much is it going to cost He’s really, really helpful for me to think things through. And you know what, oftentimes, I’ve skipped steps or I’m just thinking about that finish line and what it would look like in not being aware of what is going to take to get there. So this is so wise and it’s something that we can use almost on a daily basis as we go through life. It helps us to be a finisher to take that time, to figure out the steps to actually achieve that goal. It says otherwise when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish all who see it begin to mock him saying this man began to build and was not able to finish, you know, God is, wanting us to be successful.

And when we read things like this in the Bible, it’s like, wow, God, thank you for helping me to not be in that position where I’ll be mocked from not being able to finish a project that I started. but he didn’t real estate. 
I have run into many, many situations where people have decided they want to do a flip. It sounds fun. And it really is fun. But once they get into the project, they run into issues. Maybe there’s expenses that that were unexpected and they didn’t have enough money to be able to finish it. Maybe as they got into it, things were dirtier than what they thought or in worst shape. And they just didn’t want to go through having to tear things out. I’ve been in many homes where you could tell that people started to do a renovation or remodel or updates, and they just ran out of what it took to do it and they quit.

Count the Cost

So what happens in that situation, in that situation, they mightt’ve, or put money into that project, but you know what, they’re not going to get that money out because things are partially done. It actually brings a risk in there because you don’t know if they did things, didn’t do things. And the things that they did do, did they do it right And then there’s always the question. Why did they bail on it And should I be concerned about that so these are just very practical, real life examples that we can look around, whether it’s in our craft closet, right Whether it’s a home project that we started, I have been in houses do where they started painting and gave up. So you’ve got like two-tone walls. I mean, it’s not too, it’s not to condemn anybody or make anybody feel like, oh my gosh, I’m such a failure.

I didn’t finish it. Not it all. It’s really just a point to say, wow, you know what This is really important. And, and sometimes I don’t feel like finishing a project. So I want to spend the rest of this time to tell you some practical ways that, I’ve learned to apply in my life that may help you to become a finisher. 
All right. First of all, I make myself accountable to people, in one of the best ways for me to do that is if I’m working on a project, I’ll actually build a project plan and I will schedule meetings with people involved. So that before that meeting each week, I am like, I don’t want to open that meeting to be like the, you know, the person being mocked, right. That they couldn’t finish it. So it just helps me if I set those meetings and I have the other people involved, I’m accountable to them.

And so a lot of times you see a flurry of emails happening right before that weekly meeting, because everybody knows like, oh my goodness, I’m gonna have to report back to people on my progress. So make yourself accountable to people, set up a, a consistent meeting. you know, maybe it’s just with the Lord, maybe it’s a small project. Maybe you’re doing it on your own. You can just set up that meeting with the Lord. 
We’re going to review this and I’m going to get your ideas on this, but just a time where you review your progress. And when you write down all the steps that it takes and you put deadlines and dates on it, which is what I do in project plans, then it moves things along. I have been blessed to be in charge of some significant projects over the years. both in banking, in ministry, in my businesses now like huge projects that if I would look at myself being able to do it, there’s no way.

I just found that this is a key to use in leadership and in managing things, at work. And you can do this at home too. And it helps not only you finish it, but it helps other people that are in it with you to finish it. Okay. Here is another tip, very simple, but pretty much every day. A matter of fact, that’s what I was working on before I started filming today is I was writing out my list of to do so. I’m one of those people that I like to check something off the list. And so every morning I’ll write a list of my is I’ll look at yesterdays. And most of the time I didn’t get everything done from the day before. 
So I take those unfinished items and I put them on today. And oftentimes it’s like, Lord, obviously I don’t really want to do this, but I need to get this done.

So please help me today. And he’s there to help. So if I write a list each day of the things to do, and then I keep that with me and I check that off as we go, it is much easier for me to become a finisher. 

Wrap up

And so those are just two really practical things that they think will help you. So in the name of Jesus, I just declare that you are a finisher. And if you are listening to this and you’re thinking about projects that you didn’t get done, ask the Lord, like, is there something in there that I should pick back up because it has to do with my purpose and my destiny and my calling. He will bring those things to your remembrance and then ask him for help in getting it done and that your heart is to be a finisher. Thank you so much for joining me today. And we will continue with the remaining three items from the chapter 10, on the program tomorrow. So make sure you join us!

Buy Karen’s Book Here