You can change the world

To all of you who are full time students - whether it be high school, college, or a student of life - this week, I feel your pain. It is finals week for me as a college student. It is brutal. Yes, I was in college many years ago as a teen and young adult, and here I am in my thirties back in the game. It's tough - I forgot how tough it is - let's just put it that way. I found myself grumbling a few times, to myself and to my husband, and yes there were a couple of key moments when I wanted to throw something at a professor (sorry if any of you read this.... I'm just voicing my frustrations, here). Thank God my classes are done on-line because if looks could kill, someone woulda been instantlly killed. Just sayin.

So, all in all, being a full time wife, mommy, housekeeper, bookeeper, grocery shopper, errand runner, baby entertainer, and all that goes into all of that - PLUS being a full time student with 9 full credits to complete within 5 weeks. OMGosh.... my head is spinning. Someone hand me an advil! OK, so I'm not fully done whining as you can see. But - I do have a point. Really. I do.

Perseverance, people! It is absolutely vital when you are running a race of any kind, shape or form. No pain, no gain. Seriously. I'm not just saying that to see myself type. It is a true and real thing that one must possess in order to get through life's most challenging and taxing moments. It also builds character. Lots of character. If you can come out of the toughest with flying colors -  still smiling like you just met your best friend in the whole wide world, you're ahead of the game my friend. Many have lost their patience and personal perseverance. Its a 'fast food' world out there.They've lost their ability to carry through to the very end and say that they accomplished something magnificent. You can outrun that mindset. You have the potential to finish the race and change the world. But only if you really want to.

SO. The question is..... do you really want to? Who's with me??? Let's finish and change the world - because we can!

All those Hats.... so little sanity

Wake up in the morning. Check. Feed the baby breakfast. Check. Begin the day. Check. Half way through the day, check vital signs..... uh, check, I think. Yeah, it gets that way sometimes. How about you?? I know I don't have a 9 to 5 job per say, but I do have a job that keeps me on call 24-7, does that count? Most of us women now days do a serious juggling act - and I don't care how old or young you are - it is the description of being a woman. Doesn't matter if you're a senior in high school, a busy college student, a young mom or whatever your story is..... fact is we wear many different hats in our daily lives as the female gender and we wear them well or as best as we can.

These days I am a full time wife, mother, full time student, housekeeper, book keeper, bill payer, grocery shopper, and everything else one can possibly find in the middle of their regular description. I recently figured out that there isn't a salary out there to compete with everything we do. We could be millionaires and it still wouldn't come close. Sure, we're not working on Wall Street, but hey close enough I say! But I'm just thinking out loud right now...... my son's napping, I have homework to do but I'm not doing it right now because the school's system seems to be waaaaay slow today and I simply don't have the patience to deal with it because I'm super tired and want to take a nap, myself!  Anybody with me? I thought so. But do I take one............ probably not. Too many other things are calling my name. Blast.

I'm here to tell you ladies that we are human. God made us human. No, we are not perfect, nor will we ever be. But we are precious beings and created to give the world a glimpse of what beauty and grace is just by being us. God made us precious in his sight, we are fearfully and wonderfully made - by design! Yes that's right, he made us with a plan and purpose in mind. So no matter how many hats you wear and however 'pooped out' we are there is still a marked and designed purpose for you walking and breathing the life you live by yours truly. To that I say, Yea God!

The Leader of the Pack

What do you think of when you think of a leader? The president of the United States? Your boss? Did you know that the primary definition of leadership is servanthood? Or that it is necessary to serve in order to be a great leader? It is an essential part of being a leader. I've always known this as a Bible College student years ago, but now that I am back in school, one of my courses focuses on leadership and the qualities of a great leader. Many of my fellow students in our live chat last eveing were surprised that this would be a characteristic..... 'is the role of a leader to lead? Not serve??' I found it fascinating the different ideas and perceptions of leadership that are out there. What do you percieve the definition of leadership?

Every one of us is a leader of some sort. Yes, all of us. Whether we like it or not, we have people that watch us and observe our character, our values, how we live, etc. We may even have followers even though it may not be that evident. But, if you are a walking and breathing human, you are a leader of some sort. Are you setting a positive example? What kind of character do you live by..... one of integrity and morals? Are you walking with goals and dreams in the pursuit of them? Think about it. If a child observed your footsteps would they likely follow a path of promise and passion?

Let me guide you down another interesting path. If you are familiar with the scriptures, you may have heard the story of Nehemiah. Nehemiah is legendary for his keen leadership abilities. He was a servant in the truest sense. He put his people's needs before his own, he kept his people in steadfast prayer and only operated in the Word of God and God's leading. He had God's favor because of it. And his followers highly respected him. Nehemiah loved God with his whole heart and followed him.
Charles Swindoll authored a book about Nehemiah called, 'Hand Me Another Brick', the theme behind the book is the model of leadership. I found what he said about Nehemiah and leadership to be riviting, "The central theme of the book, threading its way through every episode, is leadership- how God uses one person to motivate and encourage others to explore new possibilities, to defy the odds, to overcome inertia and apathy to effect constructive change."  Awesome.

Fast Forward? No. Click.

Ever wish you could conduct your day opposite of the way you feel? In that same day, make everything around you go the way you want it do vs the opposition you seem to get from everything you touch? Yep. I know it. It's such a relief when the day has come to an end, you can go to bed knowing that it is a new day and a new start. But what happens on the days that you wake up the next morning and everything is as it was the day previous?? Can you fast forward? Uh.. no. Unfortunately, God never gave us a remote control like that... or maybe we just need to pay a visit to Bed, Bath and Beyond only to go the waaay beyond in the back of the store and the sneaky guy in the back room will issue us the all-in-one remote that'll fast forward us through everything we don't want to do in life to the pure blissful moments in life instead. Only problem is, we'll wind up like Adam Sandler, missing out on all the little phases of life and nearly dying of a broken heart and missing half of his life. He missed the 'Dragon Tales' phase of his little girl, he missed his son growing up wanting to be just like him. He also missed out on his loving and doting father just wanting to spend time with him even though it always seemed like it was at the most pressing times of his work career.

Does this ring a bell? If you haven't seen the movie, 'Click', it can be a hard movie to watch but it has a fantastic message behind it: FAMILY. If we keep thinking the shoulda coulda wouldas... we'll never fully live life. If I could just get a better job, if I could just get that promotion. If we could only get that bigger house.... things will be so much better. If only....... you fill in the blank. Jesus came so that we could live in the now.
Live NOW. Love NOW. Not later. Later may be too late.