The woodcutter and his blunt axe

There is a parable about the woodcutter and his blunt

axe. He was told to pause regularly to sharpen the
axe;

..it would help him

to cut more wood
in a better way.
 The woodcutter and his blunt axe
But he refused because he was too busy - cutting
the wood!
ʻCutting woodʼ is hard
work for young leaders
and looks different in
different places.
 The woodcutter and his blunt axe
In the UK it involved mentoring disadvantaged young
people showing them that God can change all our
lives, for good.
 The woodcutter and his blunt axe
In Ireland it means working with young people
who are caught in cycles of destructive behavior,

showing them that

God can redeem any
situation.
 The woodcutter and his blunt axe
In the Philippines, it often involves teaching in rural
villages hit by calamities where resources are low, and
with damaged infrastructures.
Educators here sacrificed all
they have to serve
communities in practical ways,
to show the importance of
education that can make a
difference to their life later on.
 The woodcutter and his blunt axe
In all these situation, we need to take a moment to;

pause, and
learn how
to sharpen
our axe.
 The woodcutter and his blunt axe
Now, replacing the axe with you, we need to take a
moment to;

pause, and learn

how to sharpen
our Self to fit in
the next phase.
 The woodcutter and his blunt axe
If you don’t take the time to sharpen your Self,

You’ll spend your

whole life hacking
away at missed
opportunities.
-Blake Toth
 The woodcutter and his blunt axe
In Sharpening our Self, we need to take regular time
of reflection to;
begin with the end in
mind
clarify our goals,
refresh ourselves for
the next phase, and
 plan innovatively well
The woodcutter and his blunt axe