A crazy week of peace

Next week is our summer kids' program, traditionally one of the craziest times of my year. We've been preparing, announcing, planning and dreaming up crazy big things that will only be pulled off by the grace of God! We are excited!

Strangely, this Saturday beforehand, I find myself calm and meditating on the goodness and faithfulness of God. This is a huge personal victory for me.

If you are a "Type A" personality, like me, you can relate. There are some people who are just naturally peaceful and at ease. I am not one of those people. In fact, when I come across one of those people, I sometimes want to slap them (but I don't).

My normal bent, especially 2 days before a large event kickoff, is to be wrought up, anxious, and "in control"…or at least trying to be. But lately I have been discovering (finally) the amazing freedom that comes from being out of control. Here is the self-talk that leads me to this amazing mountaintop of victory: it's not my ministry/event/(insert your thing here) anyway. It's God's.

Every detail is never going to be perfect. Every person is never going to do what I think they should do. (Thank God.) My mission is not and never was to control every detail. My primary purpose is to exalt the person of Jesus Christ, and to celebrate and live out his goodness, mercy and love in such a way that others are drawn to Him. 


When I get the order right, the peace comes. 

"Each time he said, 'My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.' So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me." 2 Corinthians 12:9

Now I better get back to work! ;-)

Leading Greatness

I love sports movies. That might seem a little odd, since I'm a girl and I can't tell you what offsides means or explain a 2 point conversion. That said, what I love is the inspiration, the discipline, the determination...the process of attaining greatness. Sports movies boil down situations that take years to play out in real life to a microcosm of success and failure.

More often than not, the hero of a sports movie is the coach. Have you ever noticed that? Hoosiers, Miracle, We Are Marshall, Remember the Titans...great stories that happened not because of great players, but because of great coaches. Leaders who dare not focus on the talents of one or two star players, but rather seek to unite a TEAM and bring out the very best that each individual has to offer.

Every person holds within them a measure of greatness. The task before us, as leaders, is to help bring it out.