Carpe Diem!

Tags

Career, Christian, Education, Goals, Personal Growth, self development, Women, Youth

I wrote this last July, but somehow didn’t publish it.  Perhaps today is God’s timing for it.

Get Busy … BUILD! Such a statement means different things to different people. God has given us all gifts, talents, ambitions, and dreams. To build a business, a mission, or to build people … whatever He has inspired, He has also made provision to accomplish. The key though is that it is not enough to say something will manifest, it also requires passion, it requires knowledge and skill, it requires work, it requires a commitment and discipline. I can say one day I will lead a Fortune 500 Company, but if I don’t gain the knowledge, experience, and ability, they are just futile words. So then, I must draw up a blueprint, a roadmap, a strategic plan, or course of action that will direct me in constructing the building I desire. *Q

On Parenting

Tags

Children, Christian, Family, Marriage, Parenting

One of my FB friends and brother-in-Christ posted a note requesting input in his discussion on Parenting.  As I reflected on my experience as a parent of now three adult children, one granddaughter and one on the way … this is the comment I shared on his post:

As a young mother, I had an example and a goal to reach for in terms of my children. Everything we did for and with them was directed toward that goal … for them to be exemplary.

I agree with many other comments that TIME is critical, as …well as expectations and boundaries. Also, being the example you want them to be and then giving them ‘roots and wings’ to grow.

My children were required to participate in church, but were also permitted to participate in school and social activities, but not at the expense of church.

Expose your children to the best experiences possible … educational, cultural, social.

Always put family and them FIRST … ‘Ministry starts with your family … they don’t deserve the leftovers of your time and attention.

AFFIRM them! RESPECT them, even though they are children … they will learn how to respect others.

LOVE them, TEACH team, PRAY for and with them.

SACRIFICE for them … that’s what parents do. Guess what, real parents never stop parenting … you just do it on a different level.

Our baby is 28 now, our grandbaby is 5 and we have one on the way … we’re still parenting and loving every minute of it.

Developing Yourself

Tags

self confidence, self development, self renewal, self respect

Peter Drucker’s “Managing the Nonprofit Organization” was a required reading for a class I took credit-by-exam.  In the last chapter or part he writes about self-development. The importance of developing as a person, first, as an executive, and as a leader.

While he writes particularly to leaders and the subject of leadership, these  principles and practices may also be applied to personal development.

I want to share these highlights that spoke volumes to me …

* “You” are responsible for ‘your’ own self-development.  “You can only make ‘yourself’ effective — no one else.”

* The first priority is to strive for excellence. That’s a given.

* “Self-development means acquiring more capacity and also more weight as a person altogether.”  Develop whatever you do so that it is bigger than when you initially began to do it.

* With self-development comes self-renewal.

Finally,

* Take a bigger view of yourself through accountability and responsibility. Not in the sense of vanity or pride, but as self-respect and self-confidence.  These, once gained, cannot be taken away from a person, they are outside and inside of me.

So, I encourage you to GROW, you’re the one responsible.