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Prepping for work each day, chug your coffee and take a short swig of workplace inspiration with the iWork4Him PowerThoughts. Hosts Jim & Martha Brangenberg give you a 1-minute daily challenge to live out your faith at work. Each episode is designed to kick off your day with an idea you can put into practice as soon as you get to work. The iWork4Him PowerThoughts are focused on helping you to recognize that your workplace IS your mission field. Catch new episodes every Weekday.
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The sheWorks4Him Podcast celebrates and validates the diverse experiences of today’s Christian working women by providing a digital gathering space that connects them to God, resources, and one another. Each week join hosts Catherine Gates, Nadya Dickson, and Martha Brangenberg as they interview women of faith that embrace their workplace mission field. Full of incredible stories, biblical encouragement, and real-life tips and tricks, sheWorks4Him will empower you to live out your calling at ...
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I think it’s safe to say that the media focuses on, and provides negative news these days. Should we just take it, and keep feeding ourselves this negativity? How does this affect your work? Do you take it with you? What are you chatting with your co-workers about? And are you feeding the beast of “all that’s wrong with world”? Or are you speaking …
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I heard a clever quip the other day about trying to take control from God’s hands. God is writing the story of your life: so STOP TRYING TO GRAB THE PEN FROM HIS HAND! This applies to our work as well. Sometimes we think we are living God’s plan for us in our work when we are actually just “taking Jesus with us”. And only praying to Him to ask for …
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Being intentional seems to be a consistent hallmark of followers of Christ. Because Christ is our best example of intentionality. Intentionality is defined as being deliberate or purposeful. How about you? How are you working with intentionality today? In the office, with your co-workers, intentionally representing Christ and showing His love and p…
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Have you ever experienced a major upheaval in your business or work life? Something that looked like it was taking you in the opposite direction of where you were headed? Or was (you thought) the next logical step? It’s highly possible that God is using this to move you to exactly where HE wants you to be. For HIS work, in HIS time, for THIS seaso…
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The wonder-woman complex. It’s an unrealistic belief that we as women need to be everything to everybody. Where did that come from? And what’s it doing to us? What if instead of trying to BE wonder-woman, we commit to be who God created us to be. .... To get to know our spiritual gifts, talents, strengths, and then went in search of God’s heart, to…
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What if today, we committed to operate our businesses from a philosophy of “It’s not about WHAT we sell or HOW MUCH we sell, it’s about the LIVES we TOUCH and CHANGE.” That’s “God’s way of doing business”. And it’s the exact OPPOSITE of everything we have been taught as professional business people. But isn’t that always God’s way? This counter-cu…
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As a business leader, if you turned your business over to God, what would that look like? What would be the result? Hundreds of business owners we’ve interviewed over the past eight years have done it. They say the result is a DEEP sense of peace vs. stress, pressure, and tension. And a new, deepening understanding of their role as a STEWARD of God…
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Every one of us in ministry. What? No, you say, I’m a CPA, I’m an engineer, I manage people at a construction company. Yes, and you are called to be an Ambassador for Christ there. The Apostle Paul agrees, as he wrote to the Ephesians, in Chapter 6 I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on s…
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Are you dreading Monday? Do you start to lose your joy come Sunday evening? .... What if instead of dreading Monday, you LOOKED FORWARD TO IT? What if instead of moaning about Monday, you prayed away your dread, and replaced it with thanks, and joy and intention? .... To pray that come Monday morning, you would FEEL GOD in your work, as you work. T…
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For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. So how about you? Are you resting from your work? Are you taking a day off every week and keeping it holy? Are you honoring God with your business and keeping…
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I learned something new talking with a Physical Fitness company owner in Nashville. The only gift God has given us that we can control 100% is our body. What we eat, how we take care of it, what we feed it, if we are exercising it. Reminds me of Luke 11:36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as fu…
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If you are like me you jump up out of bed, check for emergency text messages, check the weather, rush through your morning devotional time so you can get on to the real work of the day. Just recently Martha and I were reading a book by Kim Avery “The Prayer Powered Entrepreneur” and she suggests a different approach. Kim suggests that when we have …
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When’s the last time you really saw your co-workers? .... Saw them as real three-dimensional people? Not just a co-worker, workplace mate or just an employee? When’s the last time you remembered, that they’re a son or daughter of God? .... That they were created, like you, by God, for a purpose. That they are worthy. That they have a life, and that…
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Do you want to see your workplace as a place to live out your faith? Your work is a place where you finally get that chance to be involved in fulltime ministry. Then do these things. 1st Start praying for those you work around, by name every day. 2nd look for ways to serve those same people over and above what your job requires you to do. 3rd look …
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Some things in life are more challenging than others. Like finances. And even more challenging: How do we glorify God with our finances? If you think you’ve mastered your finances, there’s a next step, a better way to glorify God with them. To transform the money we make from working for the Lord, and seeing that it is invested in Kingdom building.…
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Are you a leader in your organization? If so, what are you doing to care for your team members? Your employees? Are you ignoring the big stresses in their lives? If you are, it could be costing you in a big way. For example: The divorce of a $60,000 a year employee will cost $86,000 in lost productivity. There are legal, low cost remedies to helpin…
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At work, sometimes we walk away from a meeting or conversation and think to ourselves “Boy, that person sure needs some fixing.” But, in reality, if we took a moment, and thought more carefully about it, maybe even looked a little deeper, we may just see what needs to be fixed is US, not them. Leaders know this. They know that the organization is a…
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How do you measure your work success? We’re referring to eternal success in your work. One way is to ask yourself: Is my workplace better off because of having me work there? Have I changed it for the better? Would my co-workers say that I am a blessing to work with? A roofing business owner in Florida told us he takes an inventory every year, look…
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Is God building another testimony for you, through your workplace? Often, hard times come in our work, and we’re called to respond as a Christ-follower. Not react with fear, self-pity, anger, resentment or push-back. But with a keen sense and trust that God is sovereign in our work. That He may have brought something to an end, for His Glory, not o…
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I wonder how much of our life is lived from a place of “taking”. Not consciously, but just getting up and living our life, as we go to work and just delve in. I’ve found my unconscious self is pretty selfish. If I don’t pray first, submit in obedience, my day, my hands, my mouth, eyes and ears, to serve all those I come in contact with, I’ll just s…
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Kathy Branzell, President of the National Day of Prayer says: there’s the idea that when I work, I work, but when I pray, God works. So how about YOU? Are you working, when you should be praying? Are you starting work first, before you pray? Are you taking God’s place for the results by over-working? There’s a beautiful balance we can obtain betwee…
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Are there ROCKS in YOUR schedule? ROCKS are IMMOVABLE commitments. Those priorities that are unchangeable. As a working Christ-follower, what are some of YOUR ROCKS? Here are some of mine: Time with the Lord. Family commitments. And anything I have given my word to, to be there. Is WORK one of YOUR ROCKS? If it is, maybe it’s time to look at that r…
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As Christians everything about us should be changing. When we were born again, it wasn’t just a one-time event. We are to be changing daily…remember the word “sanctified”? We are being “set apart” to be dedicated to God’s use. And to that end, we’re to be changing and growing more Christ-like every day, to be conformed to His image. So how about yo…
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As we start our work week, let’s remind ourselves of our calling to our work and God’s plan for our work. Declare this now as you head to work today, walk to your office, or sit down to do your devotions. … “My workplace is my mission field, a place of full-time ministry… My workplace ministry manual is my Bible. …My calling to my workplace is not …
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We all have a calling, have you heard this before? Some of us get called to the pulpit and some to the foreign mission field but most of us get called to our cubicles, construction sites, care facilities or whatever your job site may be. Your Workplace, It’s your mission field and in that mission field, you and me, we may be the only Jesus our co-w…
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Ahhh rebellion. Its’ the sickness of youth but perhaps, there’s still some rebellion in our hearts as adults. Is there some ONE or some THING that you’re rebelling against at work?...You may be doing it unknowingly… “under the table”…undermining, backbiting, using sarcasm or pushing against another’s ideas or leadership in subtle ways. Romans 13:1 …
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After a conversation with Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, of Love & Respect, I’m rethinking the way I go about being a peace-keeper. Here’s what he said: Sometimes, as peace keepers we hedge on the truth, or just lie, to keep the peace. .... So let’s apply that to our workplace. Are you unknowingly hedging on speaking the truth in work situations, to keep t…
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Mutual respect. It’s when two people show respect for each other. .... Respect is defined as the process of honoring someone by exhibiting care, concern, or consideration for their needs or feelings. This should be a HALLMARK of us as Christ followers. And even more apparent at work, with our colleagues. To respect them as co-laborers AND as fellow…
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Heard this the other day: The principles never change, but the methods always do. What a solid management philosophy this makes for us Christ followers. Principles are defined as: fundamental truths that serve as the foundation for a system of beliefs. Our biblical core beliefs are the basis of who we are and what we do. And that applies to how we …
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Is God leading your work? How do you get the point where you can say YES, He is. Here’re a couple of ideas to get you started. First, read a book or listen to faith at work podcasts that introduce you to the concept of working for the Lord. Second, pray and ask God to show you how and where He is at work in your work today. Three, take a faith at w…
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When people around you at work succeed, do you find yourself happy for them or feeling bad for yourself? It can be easy to compare our career path to someone else’s and come out feeling like we missed our chance at moving up - but the truth is that everyone’s journey will look different. Galatians 6:4 says, “Pay careful attention to your own work, …
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If you’re someone who watches or reads the news, then you know that there are a lot of bad things going on in the world today. From pandemics and civil wars to inflation and genocides, there is no shortage of darkness in the twenty-first century. How does all this sorrow and hardship affect your life? How about your work? Do you take it with you to…
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Do you ever feel like a hamster on a wheel - stuck in a monotonous, repetitive, and unfulfilling pattern of going to work, eating, sleeping, and paying bills? When every day feels the same it can be difficult to live with a sense of significance… but here’s some good news: our significance is not determined by our position or plans but by God worki…
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Wisdom. It’s defined as knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action. Wisdom goes beyond KNOWING what is right and into DOING what is right. God calls us to be wise in everything that we do – constantly seeking out what is true and right in his eyes and then acting on it. James 3:17 says, “The wisdom from above is firs…
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Do you ever find yourself scrolling through social media and feeling bad about yourself or your life? Or how about, looking over at your coworker and wondering why they got the promotion you feel you should have had? Sound familiar? Comparison is an ugly emotion… one that Mark Twain calls “the death of joy.” When Simon Peter, one of Jesus’s closest…
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Mary Magdalene stood outside the empty tomb crying. She thought that someone had stolen the body of Jesus, the only thing she had left of him. But Jesus himself – very much alive – said from behind her, “Woman, why are you weeping? … I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Have you ever been in a position like Mary’s -…
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Have you ever felt like your life is an endless cycle of waking up, going to work, making dinner, paying bills, and then going back to work again? King Solomon could relate. Even though he was an extremely wealthy and successful ruler, he still struggled with feeling like everything in life was meaningless, a striving after the wind. But God gave S…
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Our country is more divided today than in almost any other time in history. All you have to do is turn on the television or log in to social media, to be bombarded by anger, hatred, accusations, and arguments. Everyone has an opinion and they are all shouting to be heard! But as Followers of Christ, we are called to live differently. We are called …
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If you have a job, chances are you have a job description - you know, that piece of paper that lists out what duties you are responsible for performing at work. Take a moment to consider your performance at work over the last 6 months. Are you meeting the requirements of your job description or are you exceeding them? Do you do the bare minimum or …
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When unexpected things happen, when crises come, when you are let go, or passed over, or disappointed, or get a bad diagnosis… where do you put your faith? The phrase “do not be afraid” can be found in the Bible 365 times; one time for each day of the year! It is the most repeated command in Scripture, and for good reason: life can be difficult. In…
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In John 17:17, Jesus prays for his followers saying, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” But what does Jesus mean by sanctify? The Greek word used for sanctify in this verse is hagiazo and it means to separate something – to set it apart – for an intended purpose or mission. In other words, Jesus intended that all those who follow aft…
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Have you ever felt unsure about your future or about a big decision in your life? Maybe you’re feeling that way right now – confused, uncertain, and discontent. Perhaps you feel paralyzed by fear of making the wrong move or wrong choice. In these seasons, when everything seems dark and foggy, how do you move forward with confidence? James 1:5 in Th…
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1 Corinthians 12:27 says, “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” I love it when the Apostle Paul talks about all the different parts of the body of Christ because so often, we get caught up in comparing ourselves to someone who was designed to function differently. But the truth is, no matter which part of the bod…
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God loves our work! Why? I’ll give you a hint – it’s not because He’s a workaholic. It’s because work is an opportunity for God to partner with us for the salvation of souls! When we head to our jobs each day, we have an opportunity to not only make a paycheck but to engage in Kingdom purposes! 2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “So we are Christ’s Ambassado…
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Why do you go to work? Something gets you out of bed and on the clock. Is it for a paycheck, to get experience, or to feel like you’re making a difference? All of us have a reason. If you paused and assessed yours, what would the answer be? For nine years we have opened the iWork4Him radio show and podcast by asking: Who do you work for, really? Th…
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Have you ever had a coworker who seems to get all the breaks and suddenly, the green-eyed monster of envy rears its ugly head? Envy is birthed out of comparing our lives to someone else’s and being dissatisfied with the difference. But here’s the thing: comparison is a dangerous game. When you become preoccupied with watching someone else’s life, y…
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There is a trick that some realtors use when they are showing a property or doing an open house: they put a batch of cookies in the oven right before the potential buyer comes through the door. The buyer is then met with the comforting aroma of warm, gooey cookies which give them a sensation of home. Good smells draw people in and invite them to st…
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Have you ever heard the old adage, “you have two ears and one mouth, so you should listen twice as much as you speak?” Well, it’s true! Nobody likes to be run over with somebody else’s words! James 1:19 says it this way, “Everyone should be quick to listen and slow to speak.” What is your speaking to listening ratio? Do you tend to overrun the conv…
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When was the last time you pushed yourself to do something that made you uncomfortable at work - whether volunteering to learn a task outside of your usual job duties, offering to take on a new project, or making friends with another employee? Moving outside of your comfort zone may feel awkward or stressful at first, but it is also the best way to…
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How do you define success? Being promoted? Achieving a certain number of social media followers? Reaching a particular income level? Well, Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines it simply as, “a favorable or desired outcome.” Take a moment today and consider how God’s desired outcome looks different than the world’s. In Matthew 22, Jesus tells a lawy…
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