A Quick Update on the Keller Family - Wednesday, Sept. 28th, 2011 - 6:30pm

I wanted to jump on and give all of you a quick update on Sarah, Alison and the Keller family.

Sarah is as good as I've seen her since the headaches began on Labor Day. She's still very weak and her muscles are "sore, like after you work out," as she would say. I think that's because she was flat on her back for 19 days. She's slowly regaining a little bit more strength every day. What a testimony to God's Faithfulness!

Concerning my mother-in-law, Alison, she saw a surgeon on Tuesday and the great news is, she does NOT have to have surgery as of right now. His opinion was that it could, "cause more damage than good." So she's moving very, very slowly and knows she has a long road of recovery ahead but is so grateful that she doesn't have to have surgery.

Please keep praying for us, especially over this coming weekend, because we are hosting our "Access Granted" Event with 15 pastors and their wives from across the country. They are already arriving and enjoying the sunshine and beaches of Southwest Florida. Our first official event begins Friday Night!

Additionally, we are launching 4 weekend services next weekend, October 8th and 9th, which will position us to reach more people than we ever have before at Next Level Church!

I have a huge anticipation of what God wants to do in so many over the next few weeks and know that "these present and momentary trials," as the Apostle Paul writes in the Bible are working for us a far greater glory in Him!!!

Thanks for your faithfulness to pray and stand with us as we know God is taking our family, our ministry and our voice in our generation to the Next Level.

God bless you all,

Matt Keller

Another Curveball - Keller Family Update - Monday Morning, September 26th, 2011

If there's one thing I've learned over my 20 + years of being in ministry its that Satan will always overplay his hand. Well, he has once again…

Sunday afternoon, my mother-in-law, Alison, (who lives with us and has been helping me hold our family life together) fell and broke her shoulder! Yes, you heard me right, she BROKE HER SHOULDER and is going to need surgery by Tuesday of this week.

Clearly, the enemy is working overtime to keep our family out of commission! But we're not going to be dismayed, discouraged or distracted by any of this!

Here's what we know: The Bible says that "Greater is He that is IN US, than he that is in the world…" In other words, JESUS WINS!!! ALWAYS!!!

We're not afraid, in fact, the battle always rages the worst when the victory is near! And we know that God has us in a position to impact tens of thousands of people IN THE NEXT 7 DAYS alone!

As I write this, (Early Monday Morning) I am in Dallas, TX with Pastor Kyle, teaching a one-day leadership training event with close to 100 pastors and leaders from churches across the Southwest US all day! (Prayers appreciated!)

Additionally, this coming weekend we will be hosting our 4th Annual Pastors & Wives Event called "Access Granted" at Next Level Church. We have 15 couples flying in from across the US to spend a weekend at NLC to learn and take back so many of the principles and ideas that God has allowed us to learn in the last decade!

So… we need to pray everybody!

Yesterday, (Sunday) was the best Sarah has felt in over 3 weeks. Her strength is slowly returning and the headaches are all but gone.

Pray for her to continue to rest this week, even though she's going to be tempted to pick up some of the burden with Access Granted and her mom going down.

Pray for Alison's surgery. We'll keep you posted on the latest details there as they unfold.

Pray for all of the other moving parts of our lives (My mom & dad, the NLC staff, other key leaders) who are stepping up in even greater ways as well! So many of you have been amazing! Thank you.

We have meals covered for the week, so we're good there. And my mom (Jo) is staying at our house with Sarah, Alison and the boys.

We're not defeated, no, we're actually encouraged , because we know that we're on the edge of victory!

Thanks for standing with us, everyone,

Prayer makes a difference,

Pastor Matt & Sarah

Update on Sarah - Thursday, 9:45 AM, Sept. 22, 2011

Sarah had a good day resting at home yesterday. She's trying to get her medications figured out, as to what she needs, for what, and when she needs to take it, etc. Her headaches are definitely at bay, and the vertigo is lessening a bit.

She's moving very slow, which will probably be the case for the next several days. The boys are sure excited that she's home and we're all relieved that we're on the upswing.

Please continue to pray for her strength to return, the vertigo to disappear and for complete recovery. This has been a crazy and long road, but we know that God has been with us throughout every step of this journey.

Thanks again for all of your prayer and support through this time,

I'm so looking forward to being at Next Level Church this weekend to give an update and thank so many of you in person. It's at times like this that you know why God gave us a local church family.

Next Level Church, you have been amazing! I love being your pastor,

Matt Keller

Sarah's Home!!! - Tuesday Night, 9:30 PM Update, September 20th, 2011

It's Official! Sarah is Home!!!

After 12 days in the hospital, Sarah was released tonight just before 7 pm. She began sitting up at 3 pm and by 4, she was sitting in the chair. Her head feels very good. Although she is still struggling with vertigo quite a bit. The Neurologist was in to see her and wasn't worried at all about that. He said it's just a by-product of lying on your back for as long as she has been.

Though she is home, she is very, very weak and the doctors are telling her that she probably has at least another 3 weeks before she's even remotely feeling normal again.

The prescription at this point is for her to be on bed rest for the next week which means very little movement and lots and lots of rest. One can't underestimate the trauma she's been through with this whole ordeal. But we are thanking God tonight that the headaches are gone. The leak in her spinal sack is apparently healed and we're on the road to recovery!

The boys were so excited to see her walk through the door tonight! They made her a "Welcome Home" banner that is hanging across our sliding glass doors on the back of our family room. They just stayed near her the entire time until they went to bed.

The "Welcome Home Banner"

How to Pray:

• Pray that her body stays headed in the right direction and that her strength will return. 
• Pray for the vertigo to be gone and the nausea related to that to dissipate as well.
• Pray that no headaches will return.

We're so thankful for all of you who have stood with us through this crazy and difficult season. We have felt your love and support and found strength in your comments and prayers.

Thanks for continuing the journey with us,

Matt and Sarah Keller

Monday Night Update for Sarah - 9 PM - Sept. 19th, 2011

Day 15 since the Headaches began :: Day 11 in the Hospital.

Sarah had her Lumbar Drain removed at about 3:30 pm today. The procedure took 30 minutes and she did very well. They did have to give her a couple of stitches without any numbing medicines so she was a bit sore after that, to say the least.

She has been up to the restroom a couple of times since and her head feels the same as when she is laying down. Which is different than where we were a week and a half ago. The doctors are confident that the lumbar drain has done what we wanted it to do which is to allow the body to heal the leak.

So the plan is for her to spend 24 more hours on her back under observation at the hospital and if all goes well, there is a shot that she could come home tomorrow evening. We're all believing for that.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Now, on a personal note...

Allow me to comment on an observation that I've seen over the past 2 weeks. Sarah and I have been together for over 20 years (5 1/2 years dating & almost 15 years of marriage) and I've always marveled at her ability to have a positive attitude and always be smiling. In fact, one of the #1 complements people give my wife is about her smile. She's always smiling and her smile is infectious.

I have been amazed that over the past 11 days in the hospital, she has never lost that infectious positive attitude and smile. Countless nurses and medical staff have commented about it. The few guests we've had have noticed it and even people on Twitter and Facebook have noticed it from the few updates she's posted.

I am blown away at Sarah's ability to stay positive and focused on getting well. She has truly inspired me through this whole process. I am amazed that she can be the one with tubes hanging out of her, people poking her, noises and distractions all around her and a mask over her eyes because her head is pounding and yet, her spirit is encouraging me!

She truly is a beautiful woman, inside and out, and this whole ordeal has once again proven what we all have already known.

I love you Sarah and am so proud of you,

Love,

Your Husband

I pray tomorrow is the day you get to come home again.

Sunday night update for Sarah's Medical Journey - 11:15 PM - Sept. 18, 2011

Sorry about the late post everybody. I left the hospital late, (which by the way, leaving every night without her is one of the worst feelings ever.)

In terms of where she's at... Today was a very good day. Sarah felt more like herself than ever.

So the truth is, Everything leads to tomorrow. She is scheduled to get the Lumbar Drain removed sometime tomorrow and most probably in the afternoon. Which they've made sound like a minimally invasive deal. Which is great news!

Once the drain is out, they'll let her rest and recover for 4 hours and then gradually begin sitting her up to see how her head feels.

Please pray that her headache doesn't come back tomorrow as she sits up. This will be the huge test. If she passes the test and her headache doesn't come back then it's very likely that she could come home on Tuesday.

If however the headaches do come back then we have a whole other set of decisions and circumstances that we don't need to talk about now.

So all roads lead to tomorrow!

Let's pray for complete healing in Jesus' Name. And a good report of no headaches!

Thanks everyone, we'll keep you posted throughout the day with Twitter and Facebook updates as we go forward.

Twitter.com/MatthewKeller
Facebook.com/MatthewWKeller

God bless you all for carrying this with us,

Matt and Sarah

Sarah's Medical Update - Saturday Night - 8:15 pm - Sept. 17, 2011

Day 13 of the headache :: Day 9 in the hospital.

It's Saturday night & Sarah's sad that she wasn't at Next Level Church tonight! We miss our NLC family!

Sarah had a great day all in all! She was able to take a 5 minute shower sitting down but she loved being able to wash her hair and put on lotion afterward.

Around 3 pm, The PICC line was installed. The procedure was pretty intense and unfortunately took 2 tries. Which means that it was much longer and more traumatic than we wish it would have been. However it is in and in the right place so she is now able to receive her antibiotics without her veins burning and "on fire."

This afternoon started the experiment of cutting her medications in half. So her headache is back a touch but they said that would be the case. It was gone throughout much of the day but it is creeping back a little this evening.

Sarah is eating well. Which is great and Drew and mommy had cuttle time this morning and he watched a movie while she rested.

Prayer wise it's very similar to last night.

Pray that the tear will continue to heal, and that the headaches will diminish.

The plan as of now is to remove the drain on Monday and then to observe her for a good 24 hours. So most probably the earliest she could go home is Tuesday.

She wanted to make sure you all knew how thankful she was to everyone for the cards, prayers, flowers, chocolate, food for her family and caffeine!

Thank you for believing with us for complete healing.

Matt, Sarah, Will and Drew Keller

Sarah Update - Friday Evening 7:45 pm Sept. 15, 2011

Friday Evening, 7:45pm, September 15th, 2011

Day 12 of the Headaches :: Day 8 of the Hospital Stay

Today has been a day of turn around. Sarah has felt very good every time she's sat or stood up which is a good sign. Her appetite has returned, which for those of you who know Sarah, that's a REAL good sign. Her nausea has been held at bay by the nausea medicine which is a great thing!

She still has a headache, but they're kind of expecting that because of the fact that they're removing the spinal fluid every hour which obviously can cause a headache. But praise God, the medicine is keeping them at a low grade level.

Dr. Fuchs, her surgeon, and his P.A. were both in this morning and said the spinal fluid looked good and the drain was doing what we needed it to do. Dr. Carlin, the neurologist, had the Spinal Fluid tested and ruled out any other major problems or issues including meningitis, etc. which is a relief.

The Dr. did say that she is going to have her good days and her bad days and that we shouldn't expect it to all be up and to the right with the trauma she's been through.

It was a pretty quiet day of resting all in all. She actually felt well enough to turn on her phone and post something on twitter which is a first in a while. Although she still can't look at a screen for more than a couple of minutes, but nonetheless this is a good sign.

The prayer right now is that the tear is actually healing while the drain is in and that she wouldn't get any infection while she has an open area to her body.

She is going to get a PICC line tomorrow morning because so many of her veins have been used for IV's and blood draws. Please pray that that procedure goes well.

All in all her spirits are up. She laughed a couple of times but said that hurt her back.

On the family front, the boys had a great week at school, their grades stayed up and they stayed in good spirits without mom around. They're excited to spend lots of time with mom this weekend and they also like the ice cream that the nurses give them! A special treat.

My mom and dad, Harold and Jo, got back into town this afternoon which gives us a couple more hands on deck to navigate all of the goings-on of the Keller Family.

I personally so thankful for our Next Level Church staff who is carrying the weight of our church with us being out of commission. I can't imagine going through this without them! They've been incredible!!!

Although Sarah is starting to feel better, doctors have emphasized how important rest and hydration is to let her body recover, so thank you for continuing to show your support through cards and notes, rather than visits. She definitely feels your love, support and prayers. We're believing for a complete healing.

Thanks everyone,

Matt Keller

Sarah Update - Thursday Night - 8:45 pm - Sept. 15th, 2011

Today marks Day 7 of Sarah's Hospital Stay. It's hard to believe that a week has gone by, and really 11 days since this whole headache thing began on Labor Day. Unreal.

As for today's progress, there is most assuredly a noticable difference in Sarah's countenance from this morning until now. She definitely still has a headache, but the nauseousness has diminished quite a bit. But today was not without its eventfulness.

Throughout the day the doctors and nurses worked to try and find the right medication combination to get her nausea and headache to lessen. Sarah spent most of the day lying flat with her eyes covering the light. She has been able to get up and go to the restroom with the nurse's help which she describes as "the highlight of her day... to be in another room."

One bright spot associated with that is at this point she's saying that there is no difference between the pressure when she's laying down, and when she's sitting up. Which could be related to the Lumbar Drain that they inserted yesterday.

The Lumbar Drain is working as it should and is draining 10 cc's of Spinal Fluid off of her spine per hour. The goal is to lessen the pressure on the spinal fluid tube especially at the base thus giving the body a chance to heal the tear (if there is one... according to the Surgeon.) This will be the procedure for the entire weekend, through Monday as we understand it.

Please continue to pray that complete healing of the tear will take place and that in the immediate all the pain in her head will disappear.

On a family front, Alison is staying tonight in the room with Sarah, because last night was pretty rough for her. The boys are excited about being able to spend the weekend together with her. They certainly are missing their mom. Drew said tonight at the dinner table, "It's just not right that mom's not here..." It's true. It's just not right.

After dinner, the boys were able to go up to the hospital and visit with Sarah for a little while. When they walked in they were greeted by a rather vast array of flowers from so many of you! (Thanks by the way... they're beautifiul) However, the boys wanted me to mention that,

"In leau of flowers, because she has plenty of those, why not tell people that we think mom would appreciate Game Stop Gift Cards, Rays Tickets and Dairy Queen Gift Certificates! Thanks... from the boys!"

Finally, thanks again to everyone for all of your prayers and support throughout this whole ordeal. We know God is with us and His timing is perfect, but are anxious for Him to complete the healing.

Feel free to comment, FB, or Twitter encouragements, they bring hope to Sarah and I and keep our faith strong.

Matt Keller

I want to thank all of you for respecting the NO VISITORS restriction. Its helping Sarah be able to rest and recover in the best way possible.

Sarah Medical Update - Thursday Morning 8:45 am Sept. 15

I just got up to the hospital at 8:30 this morning. Sarah had a bit of a rough night. Recovery from the procedures yesterday feels like 2 steps backward.

The nausea is back which is really hard. And her headache continues to be constant. So we don't really know what is from the procedure after-effects and what is from the Spinal Leak.

They feel like the Lumbar Drain is doing what it's supposed to be doing which is draining 10 cc's of fluid an hour. So that's good.

We are back to praying for a breakthrough again. Pray for God's healing touch on Sarah today. That the pain in her head would be gone and the nausea would disappear.

Thanks everyone,

Matt

Sarah Update - Post-Procedure - 2:30 PM Wednesday

The Dr. Just came out and said Sarah did great during the procedure. He did a 2nd blood block and installed the Lumbar Drain which is supposed to drain off 10cc's of spinal fluid per hour. He was talking to her through the entire thing.

The hope is that it will relieve the pressure on the bottom of the spine where they think the leak is. He's going to try her on just Tylenol going forward because he doesn't want her to have a "fuericet withdrawal" headache (similar to a caffeine headache when you haven't had coffee in a while). She hasn't returned to the room yet but will be recovering for the next several hours.

Thanks for praying everyone. Pray that this works.

Matt

Sarah Keller - Medical Update - 9:30 Tuesday Night, Sept. 13th, 2011

Tuesday Night, 9:30 pm Update for Sarah Keller:

Dr. Fuchs, Sarah's surgeon came in today and basically discussed the options with us about where we go from here, because the headache pressure is still there whenever Sarah stands or sits up.

So after consulting with him and he with the Neurologist, they are going to be inserting a "Lumbar Drain" into her back tomorrow (Wednesday) at some point to relieve the pressure off of her lower back where we believe the tear to be. This lumbar drain will be in for 5 days which means she'll be in the hospital on bed rest until at least early next week.

They will also be doing another "Blood Block" tomorrow while they're inserting the Lumbar Drain in the hopes that the blood will find the hole and form a clot and plug the hole. This will be her second "Blood Block." The first was on Friday in the Doctor's Office before she was admitted to the hospital.

We're hoping that this drainage tube and the blood block tomorrow will do the trick and will relieve the pressure enough for the leak to heal. Nobody is acting like any of this is life-threatening or a huge deal, they're just very aware that it's a painful deal that just takes time to heal.

In the meantime, it looks like she's going to be in the hospital for a while. Her spirits are fine. However, the boys and I are waking up to the fact that we're looking at a pretty long stretch without mom at home. Grandma Alison continues to be a HUGE help! And we're thankful to so many of you who have brought us meals and food. You guys are the best.

As I mentioned before, Sarah is NOT permitted to have ANY Visitors at this time.

However, if you would like to send a card or note the address is in the original post.

How you can pray:

* Pray for the leak to heal completely.

* Pray for the headache pressure to heal when she stands.

* Pray for precision and safety during her surgery tomorrow.

Thanks everybody for carrying this with us. I'll update tomorrow as we know more...

Matt and Sarah Keller

Sarah Keller Medical Journey

As many of you know, on Labor Day, Monday, September 5th, my wife, Sarah started experiencing an extreme headache that became worse and worse throughout the week.

On Wednesday, she went to the Urgent Care and was given a prescription of heavy meds, but they didn't touch it.

On Thursday, at the 72 hour mark, she went to the ER at Health Park and was diagnosed with, "Headache, no cause."

And by Friday, she was in the worst pain I've ever seen her in. With that we called the office of her back surgeon (she had back surgery on August 18th) and he wanted to see her.

Believing it could be a "Spinal Fluid Leak" the surgeon gave her a "Blood Block" at noon in his office, which is a common treatment for a Spinal Leak, with the hope that the blood would clot and plug the hole.

By 2 pm Friday, she was admitted into Gulf Coast Hospital with the hope of managing her severe pain and then finding a solution to her headache.

Friday evening, a neurologist came into our room and spent about 15 minutes with us looking at MRI pictures, etc. and basically confirmed the hunch that she had a "Spinal Fluid Leak" and prescribed her to lay at an inverted angle for 24 hours, and strict bed rest with the hope that this would relieve the pressure on the hole in her spinal sack and it would heal.

However, by Saturday at 2 pm she was still not any better. So her surgeon ordered an MRI on her spine to take a closer look at the incision. When the Neurologist came in and she was showing absolutely no improvement he was pretty bleak and honestly stumped. He was fully expecting the upside down thing to work, and when it didn't, he wasn't real sure what to do.

The one thing he did say was that perhaps all of the heavy narcotic painkillers were causing her extreme nausea and then the anti-nausea medicine was making her head hurt, etc. causing a vicious cycle. So, before she left for the spine MRI, she was taken off all Narcotics and put on Fuerisept (sp?) which a strong migraine medicine with lots of caffeine. She was also officially prescribed as much coffee, mountain dew, and chocolate as she wanted in hopes that the caffeine would help the headache and jump start the production of spinal fluid. (Parenthetically: I've known Mountain Dew and Chocolate heal a lot of stuff, for a long time!!!)

So, by the time she got back from the MRI, she was feeling much better and within a couple of hours was sitting up, talking and laughing, like the old Sarah.

What an awesome turning point!!! It was truly a miraculous breakthrough!!!

So, where we have found ourselves since Saturday afternoon is that her headache is gone when she lays down, but anytime she stands up or sits up at all, the headache and pounding comes back within a few minutes which has continued to stump the surgeon.

So, Sarah is at Gulf Coast Hospital.


However, At this time we ARE NOT permitting visitors.


If you would like to send a card or note, the address is:

Gulf Coast Hospital
13681 Doctor's Way
Fort Myers, FL 33912

Thank you for continuing to pray for her and the doctors as we continue to find a complete solution to this whole thing.

Please pray for the boys as well, they're really starting to miss their momma at home, especially at bed time.

I will be posting updates at this website until she's home safe and sound.

We love you all,

Matt & Sarah Keller

How to Pray today - Next Level Church's First "Tuesday" Prayer & Fasting - September 2011

Jesus gave us a model for how we are to pray in Luke 11. I would highly recommend taking some time today and reading it through, b/c in these verses, we have a great template for how God wants us to pray:

So, on this First Tuesday (Hope you enjoyed your Labor Day) Prayer & Fasting Day, Here's a template for how to spend time with Jesus today:

(By the way, Here's the Link to watch the Video Message I spoke from this outline a while back... enjoy)

http://vimeo.com/25435704

7 Specifics for Prayer:

v. 1 “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’”

v. 2 “He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: ‘Our Father in heaven,’”

1.  Have Confidence in your Relationship with God.

         A.  We’re not praying to a Partner, or Creator, or Judge or even Friend.

                  - Jesus was keying in on the Role of God as Father in our lives.

B.  Prayer starts with a Confidence that God loves us as a Father loves his children.

         - The Greek Word:  ‘Daddy, or Pappa.’

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

         C.  The best part of God’s day is letting us off the hook!

                  - We have grace & mercy through Jesus!

            D.  Don’t just go straight to business in prayer, Come to God as Father!!!

v. 2 “…hallowed be your name…”

         - or “holy is your name…” – An act of praise.

2.  Love God and Worship His Name.

         A.  After we approach God as Father, just spend time praising Him for who He is!

                  - Don’t rush this… just fall into Who God is!

Psalm 103:1 “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

v. 2-3 “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,

v. 4 “who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things

v. 5 “so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

         B.  This is when we change realities.

- Prayer is not getting Heaven to come down, Prayer is getting earth to come up!

- Until the 2 switch place, nothing powerful is going to happen!

                           - Praise & Worship of God is when that happens!!!
 

v. 2 “…your kingdom come, your will be done…”

3.  Pray God’s Agenda First.

         A.  God has a prayer list.

                  - Before we rush into our needs, we need to Seek His Agenda 1^st!!!

         B.  What’s on God’s Agenda?

                  - The #1 Thing is:  The Lost!!!

         C.  MIP: When we pray God’s agenda 1^st, our needs get way smaller!

v. 3 “Give us each day our daily bread…”

4.  Present your Needs to Him.

         A.  God wants us to depend on Him for Everything, not just Urgencies!!!

- If all we ever pray for are the urgent things we’re missing a huge opportunity to trust God for the bigger components of what’s going on in & thru our lives!

 

v. 4 “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.”

5.  Get your heart right with God & with People.

         A.  This is the zone to cleanse your heart before God.

                    Where do we need forgiveness? 

                    Healing? 

                    Cleasing from bitterness?

                 

Matthew 5:23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,

v. 24 “leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

        

 

v. 4 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one…”

6.  Confront the Enemy.

         A.  A more accurate translation is: “and do not let us be led into temptation…”

                  - God doesn’t lead anyone into temptation.

B.  There is an aggressive side to prayer where we actually take ground for those we love.

         - We are called to do battle in the spirit realms through prayer!!!

 

Matthew 6:13 “…for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

7.  Trust God with Absolute Assurance in His Ability.

A.  At the end of it all, we can walk away from our times of prayer with an assurance that no matter what we face,

- or what happens, God is in control & working it all together for His Glory!!!

         B.  This world all belongs to Him.

- & yes, Satan is trying to reek havoc & destroy lives, but we serve a God who is greater!!!

 

*  Use this as a template.

         - At minimum, it’s a 7 minute template.

         - What you’ll discover is, 7 minutes will just be the beginning.

The Discipline of Replenishment

        As I was reviewing my notes and the audios from the most recent Willow Creek Leadership Summit, I heard Bill Hybels use a phrase that I've heard him say before, but it jumped out at me. He said that, as Leaders, we must practice:

The Discipline of Replenishment

        In other words, it's not okay for leaders to burn the candle at both ends. It's not okay for leaders to never stop. To run on the treadmill at a tireless pace and at an endless rate is not okay.

        If we're not building in times where we strategically aren't strategic, we're going to do damage to ourselves, our bodies, our emotions, our creative selves, our families, our teams and the people we serve. So here are a few questions to consider in your own leadership:

• When am I completely turning all electronic devices off and just being quiet and alone?
• When was the last time I took an entire day off? No lists?
• When was the last time I got away for an entire evening with my spouse and didn't check my phone once?
• When was the last time I took my kids out of the city and left my computer at home?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, what pace would my team say I'm running at?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, what pace would my spouse say I'm running at?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, what pace would my kids say I'm running at?

The list could go on and on, but you get the point.

Challenge Question: 

When is the next time you're going to proactively practice 

the discipline of replenishment?