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When Stephen Curry rains consecutive threes from 30 feet out. When Whitney Houston hit that high note at the Super Bowl XXV in 1991. When your pastor’s sermon hits you like a bolt of lightning.   It’s a blessing to have a front row seat to someone else’s undeniable power and awe-inspiring skills. It’s even better when that fierceness is your own. Words on paper and bringing those words to life through speaking sets me on fire. Experiencing firsthand how those words can make a difference is everything.  There’s a powerful ripple effect when a person pursues their passion and goes full throttle in the ways inRead More →

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In: Bless YOU
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Before a plane takes flight, the airline stewardess instructs passengers on how to survive should things go terribly wrong. She uses hand gestures to help a less-than-attentive crowd remember the life-saving information. It’s the instructions about the oxygen mask, specifically for parents or caretakers of another passenger, that resonate with me. “Put on your oxygen mask first,” the flight attendant commands the crew and their precious cargo. The message is simple: save yourself first so that you rescue someone else. If you’re gasping for air, can you really help someone else breathe?  We know that when we bless others it ultimately blesses us (Genesis 12:2).Read More →

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In: Be New, Uncategorized
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After a little more than a year at my first job after college, I decided minimum wage and twelve-hour work days just wasn’t God’s calling on my life. So I packed up my belongings (which wasn’t much) and moved to another city to attend graduate school. A few years later, I would once again load up a U-Haul truck with my corkboard furniture, a futon, and my ambition to drive halfway across the country to another state. I knew not one soul. No friends. No family. Nothing but a job and an ambitious, crazy plan. I was an adventurous stranger in a foreign land. ThenRead More →

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In: Good Ground
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I was attending a celebration for a friend when a somewhat shy, sweet young woman made her way across the room to greet me. Accompanied by her mother, she asked me about my career and my recent career transition. I told her it was not only a leap of faith, but a step of faith. I had to believe that no matter where I would eventually place my feet, God was there waiting, providing “good ground” to stand upon. She smiled and admitted that approaching me—a complete stranger—was a bit intimidating, but a gentle nudge from her mother had given her the courage. “Ahh! That’sRead More →

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If joy had a theme song it might be “Gonna Fly Now” from the movie Rocky. The embattled prizefighter conquers the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum. With outstretched arms pointed to heaven, he looks out at the city skyline and declares victory over adversity, challenge, and his humble beginnings.  That iconic movie scene is timeless; it is joy personified on the big screen. Here is a man who made a choice to stay in the fight; he saw it through, knowing it would not be the last of life’s hurdles, knowing he could lose. In much the same way, joy is a choice. It’s aRead More →

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In: Winning Within
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Ouch! That’s how it feels when an uncomfortable truth washes over you and denial is no longer an adequate flotation device. Could it be the promotion that passed us by, the marriage that failed, the friendship that suffered, and the ambitious goals that collected dust on the shelf were our handiwork? The comfort of blaming an outside source is of no comfort when that source is self. The good news is we can win from within. The first step toward this personal victory is always the hardest part. Using myself as an example, I’m thoroughly successful at self-hazing when I’m not pleased with my professionalRead More →

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In: Pass the Test
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Have you ever hoped, wished or prayed for a thing only to receive the exact polar opposite outcome? It makes me feel like a frustrated kid at Christmas when that happens. In fact, I can remember a holiday when my mom tossed a toy in our shopping cart and informed me that it was for my cousin. I wanted that toy too! But I sucked up disappointment and my resentful pout because my mom didn’t play that. Then there was the year my pout (and a few crocodile tears) hijacked my youngest aunt’s 16th birthday. Somewhere in my grandmother’s archives is an incriminating film ofRead More →

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In: You're Doing Too Much
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So you’re the master of multitasking, huh? It impresses your boss and wows your friends and family. Like that 1980s Enjoli commercial, you can bring home the bacon and fry it up in the pan. You can wipe runny noses, clean up messes, put out fires and even spark a few. Armed with a mobile device and a go-get-it attitude, you could rule the world (or at least the carpool lane). There’s just one slight hiccup. When you major in multitasking, you often minor in joy and fulfillment. “You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.” (LukeRead More →

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In: Pride Check
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God is working on me and my pride. A certain type of pride is in everything I am and I do. I’m very proud of my accomplishments and the growth of my newly launched digital ministry. I’m proud of my summer garden that yields cherry tomatoes, lettuce, pole beans, strawberries, bell peppers and okra. I’m proud that I’m self-made, a project girl that made good. All of these things create a certain amount of confidence, self-assurance and yes, at times, arrogance. God doesn’t have a problem with my confidence. He didn’t give me a spirit of timidity. He wants me to feel self-assured because I’mRead More →

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In: Broken
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Maybe it was the pout on my face that convinced a mentor administering a fresh dose of advice to issue a friendly reminder from across the dinner table. “We’re all broken,” she said gently after listening to my grievance.  “It’s a matter of deciding how much and what type of brokenness you can live with.” I agree with that. There are broken relationships, broken bank accounts, broken hearts, broken paths to success, and broken spirits. We’re all humanly flawed and imperfect in some ways. As I prepared to write this blog entry, the prodigal son (or daughter) kept coming to my mind. I see himRead More →