Conflict: Part 1

Listen to the five-minute Conflict: Part 1 audio program from Coach’s Corner. 

Truth without love can be mean, and love without truth can be a lie.

Today’s post kicks off a series on conflict and how to deal with it in healthy ways—yet another critical trait for any Christian leader.

Hardship: Part 3

This is the third in a series on hardship. You might want to read Part 1 and Part 2 before diving into today’s post.

Looking back over my seven years of infertility, I can see how much God changed me through that particular hardship. As I break that down, think about parallels in your own life. Our world is broken. Hardships will come. The beauty of God is that he uses all things for his glory, even our most painful experiences. Here’s what God did for me:

Hardship: Part 2

Before diving into my story of hardship, take a look at Hardship: Part 1. Ready? All right, let’s go.

My husband and I decided to have a baby in October 2002. After eleven months, I got pregnant. Six weeks later, I miscarried. Seven months later I was pregnant again, and six weeks after that, I wasn’t.  But it was okay. I was fine, even if my smile was becoming a bit brittle. God had everything under control, right? God had a plan, and it was my job to just trust in that plan…Right? Then my sister-in-law got pregnant the first month they tried and I. Fell. Apart.

Cheerful Liver

Listen for the five-minute Cheerful Liver audio program from Coach’s Corner.

2 Corinthians 9:7 says:

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

My question of you today is, “Are you a cheerful “liver”?

Hardship: Part 1

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4)

For years I hated this verse—strong language, but true. I’ll tell you why in a bit. But first, hardship. We all face hardship in life. They can provoke those dark winters of the soul: doubt, fear, uncertainty, rage, bitterness. And in the end, they also provoke our greatest growth. That was certainly the case for me. I wouldn’t be where I am in life now if I hadn’t experienced seven dark and difficult years.

Margin: Part 3

(This is Part 3 of a series on Margin and Leadership. You may want to read Part 1 and Part 2 if you haven’t already.)

Listen to the five-minute Margin: Part Three audio program from Coach’s Corner.

Do you have rhythm? Can you move your body like a great dancer, looking effortless as if it took no work to become so graceful?

How about your life? Does it have rhythm in this same way? If so, did it just happen or did you have to work at it just like a graceful dancer?

Today’s post is third in a series about leaders and margin. Today I’ll be writing about rhythm and the role it plays in margin. We’ll also explore the often misunderstood concept of balance.

Margin: Part 2

(This is Part 2 of a series on Margin and Leadership. You may want to read Part 1 first.)

Listen to the five-minute Margin: Part Two audio program from Coach’s Corner. 

Each of us has different capabilities for how much we can work before our “heart monitors” would indicate we are getting outside our optimum zone. I suspect this depends on how you were brought up, how you are wired, how important your mission is to you, and how your current family structure operates.

Margin: Part 1

Listen to the five-minute Margin: Part One audio program from Coach’s Corner. 

What would you do with more margin in your life?

In today’s post I’m talking about margin in a leader’s life. When I say “margin” I mean the times when you’re not working—when you can use your time for your own purposes, not for the commitments you’ve previously made.

Passion: Part 3

(This is the third post in a series about passion. You may want to read Passion: Part 1 and Passion: Part 2 if you haven’t already.)

Listen to the five-minute Passion: Part 3 audio program from Coach’s Corner.

Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion. (Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel)

Today’s post is the third in a series on passion and the very important role it plays for anyone, but especially Christian leaders. Today’s post is about what to do if your job doesn’t align well with any of your passions.

Adversity and Growth

Listen to the five-minute Adversity and Growth audio program from Coach’s Corner. 

Suffering produces perseverance; and perseverance produces character; and character, produces hope.  And hope does not disappoint us.

I’m sure you are familiar with the passage from Romans 5, which I just paraphrased. I suspect you’ve also heard the expression, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

I’ve had the privilege of guiding many leaders through their past in order to explore how God had been forming them along the way. Part of the process is to explore what was happening when their deepest learning and growth happened.  Virtually every time I’ve done this, each person has said that he or she learned more during difficult times than good times.