Lead and Inspire

I have to confess that I have not be very wise with my time management lately. I have a million and three things on my plate lately and I feel like I have been pretty slack in doing everything with excellence. It's not that I am overwhelmed but simply because I have been letting other things, people and various distractions keep my focus off of what I know I should be doing. I could super spiritualize it and say its an attack from the enemy to keep me off of the path that God intends for me to be on. Or I can just be honest and say I have been lazy.

I vote with lazy.

I'm glad I am having this reality check now as opposed to later because there are so many great things going on that I know are totally a God thing and I seriously would hate to screw that up. With my Crown class, I am learning valuable information about getting out of debt and honoring God in the area of my finances. I can confidently store that under my "wife preparation" file because money is one of the top causes of issues in marriages. Getting that under control from the jump is priority number one for me and God. Not just marriage but life in general really. I have started to procrastinate with the homework and tracking my spending but that can't keep going.

I have my Beth Moore Breaking Free bible study on Saturday morning which I absolutely love but for the past two weeks, I just have not made the time to finish all my homework. Not that I couldn't find time, I just didn't make time. Beth Moore is AMAZING and I learn so much from her studies and I have been dying to do Breaking Free since I heard about it. When I dive into the lessons, God seriously does a work in me which I love. Gotta get back on track.

Small group is going really well and its about that time for me to seriously start preparing to branch out to my own group. Had a good meeting with my small group coach on Tuesday and I told her what vision I had casted for my group. Honestly, I had not put what I think is enough time and thought into but luckily enough, God has a bigger plan for me and still sees fit to give me what I need. He randomly gave me name of the group (The Real Me) as I was googling scriptures about my identity in Christ. Ginger loved the idea and luckily it works for either a woman's group or a co-ed group (though I am hoping to lead a women's group). I now need to find an apprentice to groom and assist me and I am praying that one of the two people I have in mind are interested. Time to get on the ball.

So what does my procrastion have to do with leading and inspiring? Simple. Only I can do what God has called me to do.

He has called me to lead others to the Kingdom of God and I can't do that if I am not a person worth following. If I want to talk to people about the importance of being good stewards over their money, I need to be a good steward over my own money. If I want to talk to people about overcoming strong holds and areas of darkness in their life, I think Beth Moore has some pretty good insight on that so I need to get all I can out of this study so I can share with others and help myself along the way. If I am not intentional about being in the place I need to be when it comes to my small group, I doubt I will be an effective leader.

Last night message on leadership totally has me inspired and renewed to get on the good foot and do what I have been commissioned to do. I bought John Maxwell's book Developing The Leader Within You months ago and its been collecting dust on my shelf until this morning. John Maxwell is dynamic in the area of leadership with Christian values. I happened to come across an audio book for one of his leadership books for $5 at Barnes and Nobles and have been immersed in his teaching all day. I always know its a God motivated thing when I feel that insatiable desire to do His will and with excellence and this was one of those days.

I have been called to lead and inspire. I have an indescribable desire to inspire women and help them find their identity and worth in Christ. For all the Princesses, abuse victims, the battered, the broken, the lost; how different would their life have been had there been that one person that told them they were worth something and meant it? I know I can't save the world but I have the authority to lead and inspire many.

"Do for one what you wish you could do for many." Andy Stanley

Get ready, get ready, get ready.