Blog Archives - COACH Toby Schwarz

COACH Toby Schwarz

Leave It To the PRofessionals!

6/30/2025

“Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me;” Romans 12:19

I am not a great delegator. For one, I like to be in control. Secondly, I always think I can do it better myself. But third and sometimes more importantly, I never want to burden someone with either the task or even worse, the negative impact that the failure of the task may produce on someone else. I would much rather do it myself and then if it is done poorly, I am the only one who is hurt (or to blame). However, God is really good at vengeance AND He has requested to do it on my behalf, so I have chosen to "not be bitter, but to be better" and better for me is to leave vengeance to the Professional. And He is really good at it.

Lord, thank You that I don't have to worry about "paybacks" or "revenge" or "getting even", and I can move on and be productive instead.

Wait To Trust!

6/27/2025

“The person who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence indeed is the LORD, is blessed.” Jeremiah 17:7

Translations of the Bible often interchange the word "trust" with "wait". Trusting has always been difficult because it requires us to wait. Waiting is more difficult now than ever because we are not skilled at waiting. Everything in society actually works against an ability to wait. That is why trusting is even more important today than ever.

Lord, help me to trust in You as I am waiting for whatever is bothering me at the moment.

The Easy Life!

6/26/2025

“…the proven character of your faith — more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire…” 1 Peter 1:7

The biggest myth in life is that life is meant to be easy. An easy life is a boring life. An easy life is a meaningless life. An easy life is a life without challenges and trials and without opportunities to grow and improve. Gold needs fire. Diamonds need pressure. People need problems.

Lord, help me to go into my day with "discomfort" being the reality and "comfort" being an unexpected blessing.

Prayerful or Prayfail?!

6/25/2025

“Now to him who can do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us – to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

I am admittedly a bad prayer. I am somewhat notorious for responding poorly when people say things like, "Will you please pray for ..." with a honest response of "I will try". I do have a practice of praying AT THAT MOMENT when people ask for prayer but I know my faults and one is remembering to pray for people and their things at a later time. But I also fail to pray for "my things". I am pretty good at thanking God but asking God is a challenge sometimes. Thankfully, God is better than me at everything, including going beyond what I ask for and even beyond what I fail to ask for.

Lord, thank You for answering my prayers but for also taking care of me when I fail to even ask.

Lost and Found!

6/13/2025

“Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ.” Ephesians 4:15-15

Lost in the woods? Either follow the water down stream and it will soon turn into a river and then a larger water mass and then you will eventually find civilization. Or carry a compass.

Lord, thank You for being my Compass in a world that is lost.

What Now?!

6/11/2025

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

We will experience loss. Our world will be turned upside down. Many of our expectations will not be met and what we often hope and dream for will not come to fruition. It is not IF but WHEN. This is not a pessimistic view of life but a realistic one. So now ... where do we find comfort?

Lord, thank You for providing the comfort WHEN life doesn't go as I had planned.

Sadness is a Deception!

6/10/2025

“But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.” Hebrews 3:13

Have you ever been in "a mood"? More specifically, a bad mood. Someone asks, "what is wrong" and you say, "Nothing specific, I am just in a mood.". Let's take that logic and flip it. If you can simply "be in a mood", then why can't that mood be "a good" mood. That is what "Joy" is. It is an attitude that we choose to have, despite our circumstances. That is why God encourages us to have the "attitude of Christ".

Lord, help me to be an encourager to others but also to myself so that I can be in a position to be an encourager to others.

Completing the Work!

6/9/2025

“I have glorified You on the earth by completing the work You gave Me to do.” John 17:4

There is a big difference between quitting and changing direction or moving on or making a change. It has been too easy to quit these days. Giving up before the work is completed is different than figuring out that there is better work to do or that the work that we are doing is not meant for us. Before moving on, we must discern if we have completed our work, even if that means the work itself was no completed.

Lord, You desire me to be a complete work and that often times means that I complete the work You have given me.

Habit!

6/4/2025

“Be wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD our God to walk in his statutes and to keep his commands, as it is today.” 1 Kings 8:61

What is your worst habit? How did it start and why does it persist and why does it take so long to get rid of it? All great questions. However, the more important realization is that the answers to those questions is the key to having good habits. Or better yet, the answers to those questions will help us to be more CONSISTENT in the areas of life that we tend to ping-pong back.

Lord, help me to be more consistent by setting myself up to be more consistent.

Distractions!

6/3/2025

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Mathew 5:8

Focus is the absence of distractions. A pure heart is the absence of distractions. When we are distracted, it is hard to focus on what we are doing. When our heart is distracted by our human-ness, it is hard to focus on God and see Him as He truly is.

Lord, help me to eliminate distractions that keep me from seeing You.