Leadership Leap

True or False

I'm a spontaneous, energetic, outgoing woman.

I don't really care what others think about me.

Meeting new people is easy and fun for me.

If you answered true to any of those, guess again.

I often lack self-confidence in who I am and my abilities. It is something I have struggled with most of my life but I can now say I have made some dramatic improvements in my level of self-confidence and it came from the most unlikely of situations.

I was dissatisfied with the Young Adult program at my church. For whatever reason, it seemed to be lacking committed, consistent people. I was looking for a place to get plugged into, to become more social, a place to challenge me and deepen my relationship with Christ through devotions and discussions. Whatever I was hoping for, I wasn't finding it. After many discussions with friends and mentors I finally made the uncomfortable decision to step out of my comfort zone and do something about it. All these years I complained, I griped and I sulked when I should have simply acted. 

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; 

the courage to change the things I can; 

and wisdom to know the difference."

This quote has sat in a picture frame on my dresser for years and finally, I realized what it said. This was the turning point, the "duh" moment. 

The next day I committed to becoming the face of the 20-something women at Gold Creek Community Church. While it scares the heck out of me to take a step of leadership such as this, it has already begun to transform my thinking. 

I have been actively involved in the coed young adult group. We are reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan and I'm already enjoying it more than I expected. I now look forward to Thursday nights.

Being the face of the 20-something women has also pushed me to become a leader within the church's Tuesday Women's Night group. I am not leading a devotional or study this session but I am trying to get other 20-something women involved. Tuesday night we met at 6pm at a local Starbucks to meet each other and chat before heading over to the church. We all ended up joining a group studying the book The Power of a Positive Woman. I not only now look forward to hanging out with other young adult women but also look forward to changing the way I see myself through this study. I have already committed to lead a study the next session and I will not back out.

While I am not becoming a leader to feel good about myself, I admit I have felt better about myself since I took the leap to becoming a women's leader. I have met more women and I hope to build deeper relationships with them. I have this smile on my face and an energy within me that is new and it makes every day better. Thank you to those who have encouraged me to take this role and to those who will be my mentors and leaders along with me.

Flame Reignited

So after a long hiatus, I've finally reignited the flame of passion for writing. I don't know how or why I let the flame burn out but I have let multiple flames disappear lately. 

A good friend of mine, Laurel Dickison, has started writing a blog and rather than writing about adventures or crafts or cooking, she has taken a refreshing approach and talks about things that are personal and real. Make sure to take a look at her blog here. I'm inspired by her revelation that young adults (20s-30s) are afraid to admit their emotions and struggles and instead keep them locked away inside. Whether is because of guilt, shame, embarrassment, or they just don't care, something is being lost on these younger generations. Its important to share life's experiences with others so that those who are going through the same highs and lows can relate and others that have made it through some of those experiences can share advice, encouragement and joy.

I hope to be able to share like she does, in hopes that people can help each other out in encouragement, praise and simply knowing there are others going through the same things.

For now, I'm remaining on this blog but I have been contemplating a move to a more professionally-toned blog. One where I pay for the domain name and where I focus on professional experiences, leaving out the personal rants. It would be something I could put in my portfolio and show to potential employers if/when the time comes. Part of me thinks it would be a better idea than to continue this blog. However, another part of me thinks I could use this one to be both personal and professional and yet another part of me thinks I could manage 2 blogs. Well, actually it would be 3 blogs since I am heading up a professional blog for the Gold Creek Community Church Children's Department. My ambitions are high and hopefully I can muddle my way through and decide but until you hear differently, please continue to read this blog.