- Thomas H. Green, S.J., When the Well Runs Dry

Have you ever planned your own surprise party? It just doesn’t work that way, right? No one wants to plan their own surprise party. But oftentimes, that’s what we do. In our eagerness to experience blessings, we take matters into our own hands and try to work out all the details of our story. Can you relate to this? I know I’ve been guilty!

In recent years, I’ve been learning to let go of the details and leave them in God’s hands because I realized that He’s just way better at writing my story.

Several years ago, I lived in New York. I wanted to be in the middle of all the action, where I could experience something different every day. I dreamed of climbing the “ladder of success.”

But I didn’t stay there for long. Due to a variety of circumstances, I ended up going back home to Manila. It was heartbreaking for me back then because I really wanted to stay in New York.

But today I can say for certain that everything worked out better than I imagined. If my plan was followed–if I ended up staying in New York–I would have missed out on a lot of great experiences which I treasure today. I also would not have met a lot of the amazing people in my life right now.

I’m currently living in Southern California, and I have to say, as great as New York is, this is so much more me. I love driving around Orange County and I love being 10 to 15 minutes away from the beach. I love sitting by the water and watching the sunset. And to top it all off, the weather is pretty awesome too.

Detours can be disappointing, but the next time you encounter one, you can hold on to this promise:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose.” -Romans 8:28

Can you think of a detour in your life that turned out to be a blessing? Tell us about it!

©iStockphoto.com/CamiloTorres

I’ll be honest–I can answer “yes” to all of those questions. But a couple of months ago, I learned a valuable lesson from a fascinating leader named Bob Goff: being noticed isn’t really all that important. Your popularity doesn’t define your purpose, and becoming well-known isn’t a prerequisite for making an impact.

Of course, it’s possible to look at someone like Steve Jobs and think otherwise. Obviously, his life (and death) made a huge impact on the world. He did great things AND he was known worldwide–that’s incredible, right? But there are millions of other heroes in the world apart from the ones profiled in magazines and they’re no less incredible.

Goff wrote a great post about “secretly incredible leadership” on the Catalyst site a couple of months ago, and I still think about it often.

Here’s an excerpt:

Secretly Incredible Leadership
By Bob Goff

These days, it’s tempting to size your impact on the world by how many Twitter followers you have. Or unique hits to your blog. Or people in your pews. Or revenue targets achieved. Or whatever. It’s always been this way, I guess, though the metrics we use are always changing.

I believe we’re all hardwired pretty much the same way—to want recognition and praise, to be affirmed for the good work we’re doing. There’s nothing inherently wrong with it, but too often we make praise the point.

I think God operates in a totally different economy, one that’s not dependent on optimizing search engines, percentages, or any other feathers in our cap. Instead, I think God’s smile is the biggest when we are secretly incredible and when our leadership changes one life or a thousand lives without a lot of fanfare.

There is an old friend of mine, Don, who’s since gone home to be with God—he was secretly incredible.
Click here to read the rest of the post…

When you’re done reading the post, come back and let me know what you think! Were you inspired? Encouraged? Challenged? How did it make you feel?

Go ahead, fill in the blank!

Are you looking forward to something? I’ve got a number of things on my list. I can’t wait to..

• reunite with the rest of our Vanguard University cohort tomorrow (we only see each other one week/semester)
• watch Tony Bennett in concert on the 24th (I’m a fan, seriously.)
• see my family again (some of them are coming to visit, I can’t wait!)
• experience autumn in California (I don’t think I’ve ever been here during fall season)

…and the list goes on. These are just some of the things that come to mind. But one other thing that I’m really looking forward to is the Women of Faith event in Anaheim. I’ve never been to a Women of Faith conference, but I’ve heard such wonderful things.  My friend, Sam, went last year and she raved about it, so I’ve always wanted to go. Inspiring talks and great music (Mandisa and Amy Grant!) in one event? Count me in! Who’s with me???

If you’re in the area, you can still register for the Women of Faith event in Anaheim which is happening on September 9 and 10 at the Honda Center. Otherwise, they have events happening all over the US, so you can catch one if they come to a city near you.

Your turn…what are you looking forward to?

- Christopher J.H. Wright, The Mission of God’s People

Can’t see the video? View it here: Blue Like Jazz the Movie Official Trailer

This is the spot where I work on my papers, go through my books, pay my bills, write letters to my friends, and have Skype chats with my family.

I spend a lot of time at this desk, so it’s only fitting that I put some stuff in front of me that I want to remember: pictures of loved ones, encouraging notes, inspiring verses, and some other random things. Last week, I cut out this excerpt from the Catalyst Atlanta brochure and pasted it on the wall:

This is a challenge that faces me not just today but every single day (I even wrote about it a couple of weeks ago). Sometimes, I’m too consumed with things that are far ahead in the future that I forget to thoroughly appreciate, honor, and invest in what’s in front of me today.

Do you find yourself facing this challenge too? What do you do to stay focused on the present?

When I first got here, I was overwhelmed and filled with anxiety. Six months later, I can say that God has been so faithful, just as He has always been. I didn’t expect things to turn out the way they did nor predict how things would unfold, but I can humbly and truthfully say that He guided me and carried me through these past six months in the best way possible.  There were a lot of difficult days. A LOT. But I’m still here–alive, healthy, hopeful, and endlessly grateful.

(If the slideshow doesn’t appear, you can view it by clicking here.)

God’s timing is really perfect, too. Now that I’ve finally adjusted to life over here (although it’s still very surreal for me to experience summer at this time of the year), I find myself at the dawn of a new chapter. I’m starting a new job next week…another reason for me to be thankful! :)

As you look back at the last six months, what are you most thankful for?

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been slightly afraid of meeting strangers. I’m constantly worried that I wouldn’t know how to introduce myself or I’d run out of things to say.

©iStockphoto.com/SimmiSimons

People who know me say that they can’t imagine that I’m like that, especially since I used to work in a field that required me to meet and interact with a lot of people on a daily basis. But trust me, I didn’t just cruise into that type of work easily. Maybe I was good at putting up a strong front, but deep inside, I had to summon up a lot of courage to be able to get by. Thankfully, after some time, things got easier.

However, I still go through the same scenario all the time. Every time I meet a new group of people or I face a new experience, I’m still as nervous as a little girl on her first day of school. I have to constantly pray for courage to show up, and most of all, courage to stick around.

We often associate courage with a bold act like starting a business, moving to a different country, taking a new job, or even getting married. But courage comes in different forms, and sometimes–as Andy Stanley put it–what we need is “the courage to stay, when it would be easier to go.”

I’ve been learning that in a lot of cases, that’s precisely how things change for the better: you have to stay. You have to stick it out, put both of your feet in, and allow yourself to be immersed in the experience. When you’ve got one foot out the door, you miss out on the chance to discover the many beautiful and life-changing things around you that are waiting to be unveiled. When you’re too busy looking for the exit signs, you miss out on seeing all the possibilities, opportunities, and solutions that are right in front of you.

I find myself writing this today because I need a reminder, and I’m sharing it here because maybe you or someone you know could use this reminder, too.

I need to remember to give these new things some time, but I also need to stop checking my watch. I need to suppress the urge to run away, and instead run to God, my faithful source of strength and courage.

Can you relate to this? Do you ever find the need for courage to stay?

Have you ever wondered how someone can just do that? How was it possible that Abraham was able to head out without a clear destination, without a plan?

©iStockphoto.com/stacey_newman

It wasn’t like Abraham had a lot of experience with taking leaps of faith. When God first called Abraham to leave his country (see Genesis 12), Abraham didn’t seem to have a long history with God. After hours, days, and years of reading his story, this is my conclusion: Abraham was simply willing to obey.

I’m not very good with languages, but every once in a while, I enjoy picking up some tiny bits and pieces of Hebrew. The Bible in its original language had a lot of nuances that aren’t very obvious when translated into English. In Hebrew, to be willing is translated to yaal, which also means to be content and pleased. But I was fascinated to discover that yaal can also be translated to mean two other seemingly contradictory things: “to be valuable or profitable,” and “to be foolish.”

This tells me that in the world’s eyes, people who take these blind steps of faith may look foolish, but in God’s eyes, those who are willing, pleased, and content with the challenge of stepping into the unknown, trusting God, and heeding His guidance are the ones heading for the real treasure.

Have you ever taken a seemingly foolish step that turned out to be a great decision? Are you willing to do it again?

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