Being a woman in leadership: Luke 1:37

Being a woman in leadership: Luke 1:37: This morning I was up unusually early. Whenever this happens, I know that God wants me to have extra special time with Him. So...I got up ...

Luke 1:37

This morning I was up unusually early.  Whenever this happens, I know that God wants me to have extra special time with Him.  So...I got up and being Christmas Eve, I decided to re-read the story of Jesus birth.  I have read this story since I could read, and yet today this verse in Luke jumped off of the page.  "For nothing is impossible with God".  The reference of course was Mary's fear at being a virgin with child.  Can you imagine her fears and doubts? 

For many loved ones I know, including myself,  2011 has been a difficult year.  In our family alone we have experienced more than enough.  We have experienced tragic death, cancer, suicide attempts, and unemployment.  We have had to cope with emotions that we never dreamed of.  Today, I thought about the verse in Luke...NOTHING is impossible with God and I gave immediate thanks for the hope that God can bring. 

As humans we can become easily discouraged, feel hopeless, and become disgruntled about life and what it brings.  We forget to be thankful for what we have and we forget any good that may have come our way.  The negative part of life just takes over.  We find ourselves in a funk.  When this happens, it is difficult to pull out.  Negativity has great power over the good in life.  However, taking time to remember just this one verse can change our attitude in the seconds it takes to read it.  We can bring light into darkness, we can be encouraged rather than discouraged.  If nothing is impossible for God, then we can bring our fears, our doubts, and our frustrations to God and HE can handle them for us.  I for one could not handle life without this truth.

How many times have I read the story of Jesus birth?  Why today did these words jump off the page?  Perhaps I need to be reminded that the hope we have in God is ever present.  I am so very grateful.  This morning I am thanking God for the good and the bad.  I am giving over to Him those things that are impossible for me.  I am making a choice to be free so that I can live in joy. 

As a woman in leadership, I am making a choice.  We all have that opportunity.   Has life been hard?  Has work been difficult?  Is life throwing you curve balls?  What choice will you make?

I choose to be grateful.  I choose to live with joy in my life.  I choose to remember in every situation that Nothing is impossible with God.  May your Christmas be blessed, may your families know His love and may your day be full of joy!

Overwhelmed

Today I cried during my massage and could not understand why my body was responding with tears. All day I felt overwhelmed but I kept excusing the feelings and thought I was just tired and I needed to handle it...Why do we as woman take it all on? Especially at Christmas? A time when we should be focused on preparing our heart for the season of celebrating the birth of our savior...Seems each year for the past years, I find myself up to my eyeballs in busy when really I should take everything OFF of the calendar and be thankful for, and humbled by God's gift to humanity.

As I have taken some time to reflect this evening, I realized that I had a right to my feelings of "overwhelmed". This day has been difficult and was full of many emotions. Today is the anniversary of my mother's death, a death  that changed my life. I have missed every day since she died 18 short years ago. I finished a large project that which involved the delivery of 65 Christmas baskets, I talked to my 35 year old daughter about genetic testing due to her breast cancer, and listened so I could offer encouragement about her upcoming chemo therapy which starts this Friday. Food was delivered for the staff Christmas party which is this Friday evening at my home and I cleaned up from the "making" of the 65 baskets. I talked to a good friend of mine whose daughter in law is having her baby one month early to prepare her body for the removal of a tumor from her lung, next week...I completed paperwork necessary for a loan on our school, and I answered several emails. In and between all of that, I forgot to eat, and so was my day.

I am ending my day with a quite moment and re-prioritizing my day tomorrow. I am going to take some "down" time, and I am going to eat. I may cry, but think that I will feel differently by making the choice to think about what is important.  I am thankful for these moments of reflection.  God has given me much comfort after having such a day.

Are you overwhelmed? Stop, take time, take a breath, and pray. I am humbled by each new day I am given to re-evaluate and start fresh.  Tonight I have moved from being overwhelmed to being thankful!  Thanks be to God!

Surrender

Being truly thankful...

Lately, I have had a lot on my plate. This summer I experienced the loss of my 25 year old nephew in a climbing accident. In July my husband and I began work on purchasing and remodeling a building for the purpose of opening a private school. To that end, we moved out of the smaller building we owned and with some re-modeling there opened an infant toddler center. We celebrated 25 years in business...then in September I found out my oldest daughter had breast cancer. She was told that the recommendation was double mastectomy. In all of that, I have experienced the joy of my youngest daughter pregnant with her first baby, only to find out she has gestational diabetes. Finally, my heart has hurt for those close to me suffering from the economy, loss of job, loss of what was...and more yet unknown.

All of these things have been too much for me to handle and I have felt a crush on my spirit like nothing I have ever felt before. I have been stressed, overwhelmed, and so sad. The good thing in all of this, is that I have found a new sense of thankfulness. Any one of these by itself would be a lot for a person to handle! Mix that with my "fix it" personality and I have problems. I immediately want to create peace and harmony for all and take away the pain, to fix the problem and to mend the hurt. I discovered that my trying to be in control simply was not working for me. My stress was increasing, my happiness was decreasing, and my ability to live peacefully was lacking. I remembered and heard in my head an old song we used to sing in church. "I surrender all, I surrender all, all to thee my blessed savior, I surrender all". In the versus that follow,the song simply repeats the idea of surrendering to God.

I began daily asking God to take away from me what was not mine to fix. I began practicing removing from my spirit that which was not mine to control. Since I have been doing that, I have seen a difference in my days. My compassion has increased, my spirit is lifted, and my energy is better. By allowing God to be in control I find I can love more. I can see that all things are possible and the goal of peace and harmony are real, knowing God has taken the burden from me.

Its really no revelation, but for me it has helped me increase my faith and live in peace daily. It is believing that someone bigger than me is in control. Today when I woke up and as I always do, began writing in my journal, it became evident to me that I was trying to take care of some things I had no business with. I surrendered it all in that moment and returned to a peaceful place.

I know that there is a plan bigger than me, one better that I could never accomplish on my own, and I am blessed as a result. I can't wait for what is next. I am thankful, I am grateful, and I am experiencing new possibilities. I am thankful for my God, for my faith, and for the knowledge that I can live peacefully in a world surrounded with unrest.

May you and your family be blessed this season and choose in your own lives to surrender all!

Emotional Highs and Lows

Is it supposed to part of life that we face both highs and lows at the same time?  Recently, I have realized a dream in the opening a private school and the celebration of 25 years in business.  Against that realized dream, the news that my daughter has been diagnosed breast cancer.  How am I supposed to juggle that kind of happiness against that kind of sadness? The only way I know how to balance this is to KNOW God is in control of both. I have learned that asking why doesn't work, and resting in the knowledge that a power bigger than myself is in charge.  Today... knowing that truth gives me peace and I can be thankful.

Today I was thankful!

Today was a day to remember.  Today a dream was fulfilled, a lifetime of work was realized, and a vision that began as a dream and a drawing on a piece of paper became a reality.

Serendipity Academy, a private school, was opened for business today.  Although the children are not there yet, walking into the building this morning took my breath away.  I realized a dream...there were 40 employees ready to work, there were veteran employees and there were new employees there for their first day.  There were a group of people gathered for a common purpose! 

It was awesome, humbling, exciting and it brought immediate tears to my eyes.  Hard work, a vision for more, believing in possibilities, and never giving up flashed before me.    I was reminded of many changes that culminated to bring this day.    I never gave up, even when it was hard.  I worked through the obstacles and believed it could happen.  My husband and I worked together to risk what we both felt was "not" ours, but God's...

As a leader, I felt proud and my heart was full.  Today I was thankful. 

I wrote this poem in my quiet time the other day...

Serendipity...

It started because I knew in my heart;
that children deserved the best, right from the start.

So I took a risk that very day,
quit my job and learned how to play.

To focus on children and quality care
Learn myself how to do that; with a flare.

Long hours and work to build the dream,
and along the way built a wonderful team.

I made many mistakes in the quest,
knew from the start that the business was blessed!

Each step was hard and there was alot of change
which excited me, not at all strange!

Over and over new ideas and plans
As I began serving Serendipity fans.

The time has passed, my heart if full;
The children are now attending our "school"!

Written by Lynnette McCarty, August 2011

Being at Peace...

For the past two months, my husband and I have been working toward the possible expansion of our business.  We made an offer on a building and the offer was accepted.  During this time we have been going through the process of "due diligence" to insure that the building meets the codes necessary for our particular use.    It has been amazing that during this economy when many are out of work, and the world looks and feels like an unsettled place, that this opportunity has presented itself.  We have been looking for a building for the past five years.  We have been through this process four times.  Each time we thought the building  was right.  Each building we looked at was better each time, and every time all of the doors closed, all for different reasons.

When we made the offer on this building, immediately we were in agreement that IF this expansion was right, that God would open the doors, and IF it was not , God would close the doors.  To date, the doors have been opening...slowly and one at a time. 

Today, we received discouraging news.  It was the end of the day so phone calls to help answer questions would have to wait until Monday.  This news has been the first during this process that might end our dream of expansion.  As we worked through the feelings of disappointment and concern we realized that this might be a door closing.  As soon as we had that clarity, we were both at peace. We decided to simply continue to take the next steps, one at a time, knowing that we were comfortable with the outcome. 

Our attitude is a spirit of peace rather than conflict.   We chose to have an attitude which was positive today.  We are confident that the doors will continue to open or they will close.  It is not up to us.   We are both at peace with that decision.

We made a choice as leaders... we can allow  peace to guide us forward or end this particular journey.  We are thankful for EITHER outcome.

Move with peace in your spirit.  Remember doors will open and doors will close.  Each pathway will move you forward on  life's journey!  Be at peace!