JOY

Jesus first
Others second
You last

Important LeadHership Talks

Today I was interviewed by Sherry Surratt, the Director of the Women's Initiative for Leadership Network. They have two conferences coming up in Dallas. In our interview, Sherry asked me some great questions that became discoveries unto myself. For example, I told her that I don't qualify, exempt, excuse or justify my leadership BECAUSE I'm a woman. Honestly? I don't have time to. Time's short; the world is hurting. And I didn't call myself to be a woman-leader in this world, GOD did. So I don't see myself as a SHE who can lead. I'm a follower of Christ and HE leads through me.

Picture Pages

Last Saturday we found a great spot on the beach, near rocks and reefs. So we played "explorers," and got to see some really cool critters under the sea!

OK, so what do you do when your boss and you wear the same shirt? The bigger question is did I buy a man's shirt or did my boss by a woman's shirt? HA!

Last week's picture of our training team had 1/2 the people; this week, we doubled. How cool is that? Coach Debita had us hittin' it hard this week, but it was so much fun.

Dog

I decided to add a puppy to our hectic lives. (Raul had nothing to do with this). Yep, this was my OWN doing, based on notions like, "Oh, Heather, it'll be therapeutic for you! Fun for the whole family! A "baby" for you to "nurture!"...blah, blah, blah. Look, what really happened was I dreamt something magical in the fairyland-recesses of my brain and the reality of it is anything but. The moral of this post? When you WANT something SO bad and you HAVE to HAVE it, that's precisely God's way of asking, "But child, are you sure you NEED it?"

If I Were a Rapper...

I love to rhyme. I should've been a rapper! If I were to rap my 3 favorite leadHer-principles, it'd go like this...

1. Blaming others
The blame-game
is totally lame
just take it on the chin
& kill the shame!

2. Confronting others
The best place
to state the case
about another
is to their face!

3. Accepting others
Jealousy
is a conspiracy
that sets loose
the enemy!

ABC PRAISE FRIDAY!!!

Today, let's come up with a word (or phrase) that expresses our praise. Think we can hit every letter in the alphabet? Extra puntos for Q and X. I'll get us started...
GOD, YOU ARE:
A - accessible

My Beauty Tell-all's

34 has been the age where I finally lost control w/ my aging. So here are some of my beauty tell-all's:
1. Girdles. Period.
2. Dress younger. Look at younger magazines, younger stores & younger people. And then when you bust out with it, DO NOT apologize or ask permission. Strut your butt with confidence.
3. Self tanner
4. Wear tall shoes. More height = less width
5. Maintain your mane! Indifference to your hair makes you look older & makes others take you less seriously.
6. Take hair, nails, and skin vitamins. I highly recommend Biosil.

One final word: over the last year, I've learned that it's easier to LOOK younger than to ACCEPT that you are getting older. Pray about that. Ask God to show his love like crazy; and ask Him to release in you the ability to love yourself.

Its Not About Me

I've blogged about this before, so I won't spend a lot of time on it. Just wanted to publicly remind myself that it's not about me. The more I say this, the more I pray this, the more I hope I am this.
What do you think is a practical way to live this out?

My First Coach

Today, despite Tropical Storm Fay, Coach Debita & the FRC Team decided to forge ahead and begin our 1st day of training. Priscilla, Espy, Heredes, Marcy, Peter, Debby, Joe and I didn't let a little thunder and lightening hold us back! On a personal note, it was very special. I've never had a coach. Growing up, when I tried to be on the track team, gymnastic team, cheerleading squad & softball team - I was told, "Maybe you shouldn't" (because I was always sick). Coach Debita is different. She's only told me, "I can." I have always wanted to cross a finish line, but never had someone tell me I could. Today was a new day.

5 Wildest Dreams

Although my wildest dreams are so far away they're like moons orbiting Pluto, here they are, in no certain order:
>Help Flamingo Road Church circle the globe w/ 50 campuses.
>Speak to an arena of people hungry for God.
>Write a book (Title? "LeadHership"...duh!).
>Serve mommies w/ AIDS on a missions trip to Africa
>Start & finish the training & racing of a running event.

Suicide: A Tough Subject

It's a very difficult subject to discuss. I know someone who recently attempted it. I've been trying to be there for this person. It's hard. But the thing I keep going back to is, "By His grace, you're still here."
As bad as that night was where you wanted to leave your life, God still needed you here to live it.
And the scars on your wrists? You're in good company. Jesus had a scar on his side.
And those scars aren't reminders of your mistake; they are proof of His love.
And someday, God's gonna use you to share that proof with other souls who suffer.

Do you have any thoughts on this subject? You can leave an anonymous comment if you want.

Libros! Libros!

I have a slight reading problem so it takes me a long time to read & retain words on a page. But if the book's good, I WILL finish it, even if it takes months. Here are 4 I finished & recommend:
>If you want to love God more: Crazy Love by Francis Chan
>If you struggle with dying: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
>If you have a son: The Wonderful World of Boys by James Dobson
>If you are not a perfect leader: Deadly Viper Character Assasins by Mike Foster & Jud Whilhite

My Olympic Moment

The last week of 3rd grade we had an event called "Field Olympics." A day of outdoor competitions that culminated into the grand finale: class-rival tug-o-war. I remember that tug-o-war & being on the loser team. I also remember the 3-legged race, where me & my partner bit it bad in front of everyone. That day I didn't get the "thrill of victory!" But I did experience the "agony of defeat," which, BTW, was quite preparatory for life, eh? And that's my Olympic Moment. Bob Costas, you out there? Call me if you want an interview.

McDonald's New Southern Style Chicken Sandwich?

Raul and I were pretty surprised when we tried McDonald's new chicken sandwich. It is EERILY familiar to another certain-Chick-fastfood-Filet sandwich. Have you noticed the same thing? Whatta ya think of that?

What's on your box?

I tried to tell my 3-yr old that he won't like Grape Nuts. But he pointed to the box & said, "But Mommy, it has strawberries & blueberries in it & I like those!" Poor child. He thinks what's ON the box is what's IN it. Grape Nuts isn't wrong. They did picture their product on the front, they just added to it. But people aren't cereal boxes & their maker isn't Post. People are made in the image of God; and what's on the outside of them should be what's on the inside...so even 3-yr olds will look & know what they're getting.

My Summit Recap

Over the last two days, we hosted The Leadership Summit. It was equal parts motivational and stressful because I attended but also served as a 1st-time producer for it. (The first day, I took alot of trips to the john AND alot of Pepto!) But here are 3 highlights:
1) We, Leadhers, recording a debrief of Session 2's speaker, Gary Haugen for the Potential Podcast.

2) Espy's piece of doodle art of Session 6's speaker, Chuck Colson was pretty darn good!:

3) If you held a gun to my head, letting me only pick 2 of the best one-liners, they'd be:
"If you want your leadership to matter, lead in the things that matter to God."
and
"Jesus didn't come to make us feel safe; He came to make us brave."

Steven Curtis Chapman

Tonight, Raul and I watched Steven Curtis Chapman and his family on Larry King Live. They were very candid about the horrible family tragedy they recently endured. A caller phoned in and asked the family, "How will you live your life now that this has happened?" Larry asked their teenage son, Caleb, to answer. Caleb poignantly replied, "the night of the accident, as a family, we gathered over Maria's body and made a pact that for the rest of our lives we'd honor Maria by honoring the One who gave her to us." Wouldn't you agree that that is a beautiful answer to a very difficult question...

Grateful

One of my favorite words is, 'Grateful.' Some of you know that's often my closing word in emails & texts. I believe in gratefulness, pray for gratefulness & communicate gratefulness, it's helped my soul immensely. Last night at our staff meeting, Pastor Troy asked us to get an image in our minds of what we're grateful for. Then we worshipped, in song, to express it. I thought I'd bring the image I had out into the open...

Busty Mannequins

While in Soho, we passed this store window. See how the busty mannequin is standing upright while the other one is kinda slouched? Indulge me here. What do we look like when we're next to someone we think is seemingly better than us? Do we get all slouchy & insecure? God says HE has called you by name & YOU are HIS & He's loved you forever! If you're ever next to someone you think is better than you, just remember: standing on the other side is GOD & He already thinks you're the best.

1 CITY, 3 CHIX, 5 CHURCHES

People that You Meet: Times Square

Our 1st day here & I feel like I saw the entire world on one street. When you're on Times Square, you realize you are merely one, in the midst of it ALL: all ethnicities, all genders, all religions, all economic statuses. I can't tell you how much of the world we saw in minutes on one street. As a Christ-follower, how does that make me feel? How does that make you feel? It's a huge world, I've only seen a speck of it. But everytime I go somewhere, I've got to love whoever I meet there.

Viva la Vida en NEW YORK CITY

Today, Pastors Lilibeth and Melissa and I are off to NYC. A mecca of culture, diversity and ecclectic churches. Before we kick off our Fall FRC season, we thought it'd be a great place to study, think & dream. We're also tieing it all to our FRC Ethos. Here's our tour schedule:

FRIDAY - Diversity Day

to experience different folks with different gifts on a different stage

SATURDAY - Environment Day

to learn from staffs who've spent 70+ yrs caring for their environment
SUNDAY - Thinking & Collaborating Day

to be students of an ecclectic spread of churches
MONDAY - Movement Day

a day to freely MOVE thru a few historical NY tourist spots