The Discipline of Hearing-My Utmost for His Highest

Just wanted to share my devotional for today from Oswald Chamber's My Utmost for His Highest.

Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops —Matthew 10:27

Sometimes God puts us through the experience and discipline of darkness to teach us to hear and obey Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and God puts us into “the shadow of His hand” until we learn to hear Him (Isaiah 49:2). “Whatever I tell you in the dark. . .”— pay attention when God puts you into darkness, and keep your mouth closed while you are there. Are you in the dark right now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? If so, then remain quiet. If you open your mouth in the dark, you will speak while in the wrong mood— darkness is the time to listen. Don’t talk to other people about it; don’t read books to find out the reason for the darkness; just listen and obey. If you talk to other people, you cannot hear what God is saying. When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else once you are back in the light.

After every time of darkness, we should experience a mixture of delight and humiliation. If there is only delight, I question whether we have really heard God at all. We should experience delight for having heard God speak, but mostly humiliation for having taken so long to hear Him! Then we will exclaim, “How slow I have been to listen and understand what God has been telling me!” And yet God has been saying it for days and even weeks. But once you hear Him, He gives you the gift of humiliation, which brings a softness of heart— a gift that will always cause you to listen to God now.

Summer Reading List 2012

Okay, so I know I haven't written anything in a while, but I have been reading quite a bit this summer. Every summer since I was little, I would give myself a goal of reading at least 10 books before the summer was over. I still do this, sometimes having a list of books I want to get read by the end of the summer. Here is the list of books I have read this summer, and I will continue to add to it as I read more books. This is just something I like to do to motivate me to continue to read, and I hope it motivates you all to read as well!

Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers
Her Daughter's Dream by Francine Rivers
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Mocking Jay by Suzanne Collins
The Atonement Child by Francine Rivers
Showdown by Ted Dekker

Trust God.

Me: God, can I ask You a question?

God: Sure

Me: Promise You won't get mad... 

God: I promise .........

Me: Why did You let so much stuff happen to me today?

God: What do you mean?

Me: Well, I woke up late

God: Yes

Me: My car took forever to start

God: Okay

Me: At lunch they made my sandwich wrong & I had to wait

God: Hmmmm

Me: On the way home, my phone went DEAD, just as I picked up a call

God: All right

Me: And on top of it all, when I got home -I just wanted to soak my feet in my new foot massager & relax. BUT it wouldn't work!! Nothing went right today! Why did You do that?

God: Let me see, the death angel was at your bed this morning & I had to send one of My Angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that

Me (humbled): OH

GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.

Me: (ashamed)

God: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick & I didn't want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn't afford to miss work.

Me (embarrassed): Okay

God: Your phone went dead because the person that was calling was going to give false witness about what you said on that call, I didn't even let you talk to them so you would be covered.

Me (softly): I see, God

God: Oh and that foot massager, it had a shortage that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.

Me: I'm sorry, God

God: Don't be sorry, just learn to trust Me.... in ALL things , the good & the bad.

Me: I will trust You.

God: And don't doubt that My plan for your day is always better than your plan.

Me: I won't God. And let me just tell you God, thank You for everything today.

God: You're welcome child. It was just another day being your God and I love looking after My children...

Cinnamon Challenge!

This is hilarious! Try it for yourself if you'd like and make sure to video it! Also, don't forget to have a tall glass of water on hand! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=V7ZlbQBnC-g

10. Self Care

A leader who can be characterized as exhibiting little self-care would be Georgina.  She let the difficult times get the best of her, to the point where she may not have been caring for herself in the way that she should have.  Instead of balancing her time between herself and the people she was leading, she spent too much time worrying about the problems and the people involved than herself.  Her spiritual life went downhill; she just wasn't setting aside time daily to be with God because it seemed like there was just too much to do and think about. This really caused her to stumble, but it took her a while to realize why that was. She also become too involved emotionally in the trials going on in other people's lives, that it was affecting her daily life. She began to worry too much what people were thinking of her and began to be discouraged.  She saw herself as a failure and began to become burnt out.  She wasn't able to give much because she didn't have much left.

An example of a leader who has exhibited good self-care would be Susana.  At the beginning of her leadership position things were going great.  She felt like she was really growing and learning a lot.  Then things started happening and soon there was more difficulty than she could have ever expected.  However, she knew that being in leadership would be a sacrifice, so she continued to press on and do her best.  She also knew that her time with God each day was vital, so she made sure that was a priority.  She did have times where things frustrated her and discouraged her, but she always had a peace that surrounded her.  She was always positive and striving to be better, and didn't dwell on the things she messed up on.  She continued to grow, even in the time of hardship.

Bad self-care is when the problems become self-centered and begin to affect how a leader sees themselves. It is when they lose focus of the goal and of the task on hand.  It is when they dwell on the bad and pass up the good moments.  These people are negative and down on themselves, thinking they are failures and spending too much time blaming rather than fixing.

Good self-care is exhibited by people who are consistent, even when life situations are not.  They are resilient and continue to have a good attitude even when times are hard.  They do not dwell on their mistakes, but strive to be better. They keep up on the things that are important to them and do not let their emotions get the best of them.

I can definitely learn from these examples. I think I posses qualities from both sides. I need to continue to grow in the consistency area and striving towards being better rather than things I can't fix.

9. Leadership then & now

My idea of leadership when I was in elementary school was basically seeing leaders as authority.  I knew that they were in charge and that I had to listen to them.  People in leadership over me were "cool," and I looked up to them.  As a kid, I never really saw their perspective of things.  I saw their position as their job, so they must love it and they must be good at it.  I never really thought about how hard it could and all the challenges they would face.  Now that I'm in leadership and I'm a lot older, I see things from their perspective.  For leaders over me, I am the kind of person who notices when they may be struggling or when things could be hard for them.  As a leader myself, I know from experience how hard it is to be a a leader sometimes.  I see leadership as less of something you are born into and more of something you work towards.  I am learning everyday what it means to be a leader.  I see leadership as less than just an authority and more of a time of challenge and growth.  Maturity with age is one cause for the shift.  I have grown older and am more aware of other people.  I see people as more than just their position.  I've also shifted my thinking because I have become close to some of the leaders in my life and gotten to know a little more about what it means to them to lead.  Also, I am a leader now myself, and I am learning different aspects to leadership that I never would have thought of.  It is such a sacrifice, and so much more than being in "authority" over people.  It is a lifestyle.  To be an effective leader, you can't just see it as a position, you must see it as a way of living.  You have to be in 100% or not at all.

8. Values

I value honesty.  I really appreciate when my friends are honest with me and are able to talk to me about everything.  Whether it's what's going on in their life or whether it's something they need to approach me about that I'm doing wrong.  It shows someone really cares about me when they are not afraid to gently tell me when I'm wrong and what I need to work on.  Also, when friends are upset with me, I like them to be honest and tell me right away instead of getting more upset or talking to others about it.  I am a pretty open person, and I like to talk things out.

I also value good time management.  I am the kind of person who likes to be early, have a set schedule and stick to it, and be wise with my time.  When people recognize this about me and respect that in being time conscious themselves, it helps relieve a lot of the stress on myself.  When I'm a part of a team, I can get frustrated when time isn't used in the most efficient way, so I value people who take the time we have together seriously.

I also value cleanliness and organization.  I am a very neat and orderly person and I like my personal space to be that way.  When things are consistently out of place or kept dirty for a long period of time, it stresses me out.  I like my desk to be organized, my clothes to be put away, my books to be lined up on my shelf correctly, and dishes to be washed.  I value people who respect their property and others' property by keeping it clean and organized.  It also shows a great amount of responsibility and discipline, which I also value.

7. Absence of Trust

The first of the Five Dysfunctions of a Team according to Patrick Lencioni's book is an absence of trust.

1. Why is it necessary for a team to trust each other in order to succeed instead of just being able to work well together?
2.  How does having the ability to challenge someone else's opinion relate to trust?
3.  What is the benefit from having debates rather than always agreeing on everything?
4.  In order for a meeting to be productive, why is it important that everyone be engaged and involved, even if it doesn't seem like the issue relates to everyone?
5.  How can a team's debates, challenges, and differences help the team go above and beyond?

Answer each of these questions in relation to a large company you are not a part of first, such as a successful business you know about; then think about how these same questions/suggestions can be used in a team you are currently involved in.

Other questions to ponder:
Why is an absence of trust the first and foundation of dysfunctions in a team?
Do you see an absence of trust in your team?  Why or why not?
How can your team strive towards forming trust?

His Waves

I really needed to be reminded of this. Why is it so easy to turn to God in the good times, yet when we struggle we forget Him?  We should always find our peace in our Lord and only Him. So if you find yourself amidst waves today, remember who controls them.  Hold tightly to the one who can calm even the rougheat seas.

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Psalm 42:5-6
Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again--my Savior my God! Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you.

They are HIS waves, whether they break over us, hiding His face in smothering spray and foam; or smooth and sparkling, spread a path before us, and to our haven bear us safely home.

They are HIS waves, whether for our sure comfort He walks across them, stilling all our fear; or to our cry there comes no aid nor answer, and in the lonely silence none is near.

They are HIS waves, whether we are hard-striving through tempest-driven waves that never cease, while deep to deep with turmoil loud is calling; or at His word they hush themselves in peace.

They are HIS waves, whether He separates them, making us walk dry ground where seas had flowed; or let tumultuous breakers surge about us, rushing unchecked across our only road.

They are HIS waves, and He directs us through them; so He has promised, so His love will do. Keeping and leading, guiding and upholding, to His sure harbor, He will bring us through.

-Annie Johnson Flint

6. Communication

a. Communication is the glue that holds relationships together and keeps them functioning successfully, whether it's a friendship or a leadership.  There are three basic types of communication: unassertive, assertive, and aggressive.  Unassertive is letting people, in a sense, walk all over you, with the mindset that what you have to say isn't good enough, so you just keep quiet.  Being assertive in your communication is saying only what is needed to get your point across.  Aggressive communication is valuing what you have to say over what everyone else has to say.  I would put myself between unassertive and assertive.  I definitely don't think I push my thoughts and ideas on others and at times I am healthily assertive in what I have to say, but sometimes I leave a conversation wishing I had said more of what I really thought.  I need to find a healthy balance in this area of my life.
On the Listening Self-Evaluation I took, which assessed my listening skills, I scored a 69.  The average score is 61.  I think I am a pretty good listener, which probably stems from some of my top strengths: developer, restorative, and empathy.  I am a very empathetic and compassionate person, which is why I'm in the Social Work field.  I enjoy listening to people's struggles and triumphs in order to help and encourage them.  Some things I do need to work on is finding a healthy balance between giving my own input and advice and just simply taking the time to listen to someone talk.  At times I may need to just listen and not talk, but there are also times when advice or guidance is helpful.

b. I have encountered some minor ethical dilemmas in my life.  When I have heard of some people breaking little rules or school policies I face a dilemma.  Should I say something to them about it, even though it doesn't seem like a big deal?  Or should I just let it slide because it could be much worse, and this way I won't seem overbearing or judgmental.  In these cases sometimes I have to go off of rule-based thinking--following a principle that everyone should follow.  It's based on a duty of following and encouraging others to follow the rules.  Not that I necessarily think that they are harming anyone, although they could be indirectly, but breaking rules is disrespectful and could lead to breaking more and bigger rules.