Be Green and Growing
Today is selfishly, all about me. I'm going to do pretty much what I want today. I slept in. I had my coffee and prayer time, my Bible reading time... still time for some yoga out on the deck in the fresh morning air and some Bible study. I might cut some grass (I really enjoy cutting grass!) And spend some time in the hammock for an afternoon siesta.
I have planned to have a few girlfriends over for some much deserved and seriously needed Girl Time. Just to be in the presence of godly friends is good for the soul. God created me with a need to be surrounded by people more often than not. There are times when I want to be alone - but that's the exception, not the rule.
I've heard many times throughout the Mary Kay world, that we become like the five people we spend the most time with. Motivational speaker, Jim Rohn, said that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. And I've always believe this thought to be true.
I've made it a habit in my life to make a conscious attempt to surround myself with the right five people. The first two friends are those whom have what I perceive to have 'more' than I do...they live a step above me. They cause me to dream bigger, reach higher, push harder and set my sights on things above. Not in an envious way, and I'm not speaking of material things either. I'm talking about women whom I see as having a better relationship with their children, or their husband, or a closer walk with God, or a more successful career. These are the women that I perceive to be 'living the dream' that I hold in my heart.
One of my dearest mentors once advised me, "Find someone who has done what you want to do, in the style in which you want to do it, and do what they did." She probably had no idea when she said those words, how profound an effect they would have in my life. Lots of people use the phrase without the style part...but what she wanted me to understand was that sometimes people may seem to have what we want in life, but if they sold their soul to get it, it's not worth having.
I also make sure that I have my one companion who I consider my equal. My running buddy. My confidant. The one who is there to pick me up when I fall....right after she gets done laughing at me. My sister in the Lord. We walk our walk together. Sometimes she leads, sometimes she follows, but we're always on the same lap.
That's three people...so number four is the person whom I want to have in my life to keep me grounded. The one who looks to me for inspiration. The one whom I can spur on to bigger dreams and loftier goals. The one who thinks she needs me more than I need her...but what she doesn't get is that I need her just as much as she needs me - maybe more. Because she's the one who keeps me humble and causes me to appreciate what I have even more. She's the one who brings me the most blessings, because it is better to give than to receive (Acts 20:35) and I love it when I can give her something...whether it's money, material things, encouragement, prayers, whatever.
Number five in my formula for becoming a better person, is God. He is the one that tips the scales in my favor. If I spend more time with Him, studying His word, listening for His voice, sharing my hopes and fears with Him, than anyone else... my average is bound to come out better.
I shared this idea with my youngest son, hoping to encourage him to find some friends that he looks up to, and I wasn't sure if any of our conversation actually 'stuck'. Sometimes, trying to share wisdom with a teenaged boy is like trying to nail Jell-O to a tree. It just slips away. Then a few days ago, as we were driving along, chatting about this or that, he said to me, "The goal is to keep going until your mentors are your peers." EEEeeeerrrrrrtttt! I slammed on the brakes (thankfully we were on our own county road, close to home, where we may see a couple dozen cars a day if we're lucky). I looked at him quizzically and demanded to know where he had heard such a profound statement. (I was certain this didn't come from the mind of a 15 year-old.) He said he read it in an article in one of his dirt bike magazines. Hhhhmmmm. I had to whip out my phone and type that phrase into the Notes app before it escaped my brain (as wise things often do.)
I can't find that exact phrase in order to give proper credit, but what I got from it was that I should keep pressing forward, bettering myself until the people I look up to (my mentors) become the ones I consider equals. Then I need to find new mentors. Because as long as I live, I'm certain there are always people close by who have more experience and have done what I want to do - in the style in which I want to do it. And hopefully we are all moving forward - or up.
People, just like every other living thing, are either green and growing or ripe and rotting (another wise piece of advice from my friend) and we can't allow ourselves to be yoked to someone who is dying on the vine. We can try to bring them along with encouragement and love, but we can't change them. They have to want it for themselves. Surround yourself with green and growing friends, and cheer each other on, whether they're ahead of or behind you...we are all running the same race.
2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NIV) says, "7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."
See you at the finish line, sisters!
Be blessed!!
I have planned to have a few girlfriends over for some much deserved and seriously needed Girl Time. Just to be in the presence of godly friends is good for the soul. God created me with a need to be surrounded by people more often than not. There are times when I want to be alone - but that's the exception, not the rule.
I've heard many times throughout the Mary Kay world, that we become like the five people we spend the most time with. Motivational speaker, Jim Rohn, said that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. And I've always believe this thought to be true.
I've made it a habit in my life to make a conscious attempt to surround myself with the right five people. The first two friends are those whom have what I perceive to have 'more' than I do...they live a step above me. They cause me to dream bigger, reach higher, push harder and set my sights on things above. Not in an envious way, and I'm not speaking of material things either. I'm talking about women whom I see as having a better relationship with their children, or their husband, or a closer walk with God, or a more successful career. These are the women that I perceive to be 'living the dream' that I hold in my heart.
One of my dearest mentors once advised me, "Find someone who has done what you want to do, in the style in which you want to do it, and do what they did." She probably had no idea when she said those words, how profound an effect they would have in my life. Lots of people use the phrase without the style part...but what she wanted me to understand was that sometimes people may seem to have what we want in life, but if they sold their soul to get it, it's not worth having.
I also make sure that I have my one companion who I consider my equal. My running buddy. My confidant. The one who is there to pick me up when I fall....right after she gets done laughing at me. My sister in the Lord. We walk our walk together. Sometimes she leads, sometimes she follows, but we're always on the same lap.
That's three people...so number four is the person whom I want to have in my life to keep me grounded. The one who looks to me for inspiration. The one whom I can spur on to bigger dreams and loftier goals. The one who thinks she needs me more than I need her...but what she doesn't get is that I need her just as much as she needs me - maybe more. Because she's the one who keeps me humble and causes me to appreciate what I have even more. She's the one who brings me the most blessings, because it is better to give than to receive (Acts 20:35) and I love it when I can give her something...whether it's money, material things, encouragement, prayers, whatever.
Number five in my formula for becoming a better person, is God. He is the one that tips the scales in my favor. If I spend more time with Him, studying His word, listening for His voice, sharing my hopes and fears with Him, than anyone else... my average is bound to come out better.
I shared this idea with my youngest son, hoping to encourage him to find some friends that he looks up to, and I wasn't sure if any of our conversation actually 'stuck'. Sometimes, trying to share wisdom with a teenaged boy is like trying to nail Jell-O to a tree. It just slips away. Then a few days ago, as we were driving along, chatting about this or that, he said to me, "The goal is to keep going until your mentors are your peers." EEEeeeerrrrrrtttt! I slammed on the brakes (thankfully we were on our own county road, close to home, where we may see a couple dozen cars a day if we're lucky). I looked at him quizzically and demanded to know where he had heard such a profound statement. (I was certain this didn't come from the mind of a 15 year-old.) He said he read it in an article in one of his dirt bike magazines. Hhhhmmmm. I had to whip out my phone and type that phrase into the Notes app before it escaped my brain (as wise things often do.)
I can't find that exact phrase in order to give proper credit, but what I got from it was that I should keep pressing forward, bettering myself until the people I look up to (my mentors) become the ones I consider equals. Then I need to find new mentors. Because as long as I live, I'm certain there are always people close by who have more experience and have done what I want to do - in the style in which I want to do it. And hopefully we are all moving forward - or up.
People, just like every other living thing, are either green and growing or ripe and rotting (another wise piece of advice from my friend) and we can't allow ourselves to be yoked to someone who is dying on the vine. We can try to bring them along with encouragement and love, but we can't change them. They have to want it for themselves. Surround yourself with green and growing friends, and cheer each other on, whether they're ahead of or behind you...we are all running the same race.
2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NIV) says, "7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." See you at the finish line, sisters!
Be blessed!!
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