Someone once said “Life gives us brief moments with another…but sometines in those brief moments we get memories that last a life time.” Lately, I’ve been going back alot. You know remembering…my days in college, my days right after college, friends I’ve lost, friends I’ve gained, people I miss, etc. It has happened because of the technology of Facebook. I’ve come in contact with people from my high school days, college days and of course, present day activities. As I’ve connected with people I realize that I’ve missed a number of them. I’ve also realized how much I’ve lived and how much more I still have to live.

Life is so precious. In my daily work with people and talking with a friend who is a hospice chaplain, I’ve come to learn and appreciate the fragility of life and the moments for memory making. I don’t want to take them for granted for every moment we have on earth is a gift of God. I guess that is why I want my life to count and I try to be kind to others and to use my life to impact people and in particular women. In this to say, our attitude about life shapes our destiny and helps us make memories we won’t regret.

Chuck Swindoll is quoted as saying, “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

So now that technology helps us stay connected with people globally and we can choose to be a positive force in the world, how will you evaluate your attitude so you embrace life (with all its ups and downs) in a way that people will be glad to have met you, your old friends will be glad to have reconnected with you and your new friends will be glad to have allowed you into their lives?

Create great memories, reminisce about memories gone by and always look at life with an attitude of gratefulness to God for every breath he’s allowed you to take.

You know its bad times economically when even a famous gossip columnist can’t keep her job. Read it here.

I just got off the phone with a woman who shall remain nameless for now. I know her. She helped me get through my dissertation. I had proposed to her a partnership between CEFL and X to develop a leadership certificate program for women. A little to no cost leadership program for women. A program that would increase the skills of women in this world where they have to show themselves as the best one for the job or get laid off! A program that will help women believe they can be leaders in their spheres of influence.  Well, it looks like its going to happen. I can’t tell you everything just yet but something is in the works and if God wills, it will be a blessing to the school I’m working with, CEFL, women and yes, me too!

Praise God. It’s a great opportunity to take CEFL outside its usual circles and be a bigger blessing to women who may not even know the Lord!

Disaster. Urgency. Catastrophe. That is what everyone is calling the current economic crisis in America. But I also think of the church and the church plants that dream of being mega (because does any really want to stay micro) and the debt load that is usually incurred.

I am part of a church plant team but for the most part, I’m the only one that sees us as a church plant because of my research on the topic. Since we have upwards to 250 people sometimes people don’t think of us as a church plant, since we have a nice size building sometimes people don’t think of us as a church plant but in sooooooooooooooooo many ways, we ARE. Let me count the ways:

Leadership, Budget, Dreams to Reality ratio, etc. I read this article today and I just said, we have so much reflection work to do church.

As usual I haven’t blogged in a while but these are my brain waves at the moment.

The older I get the busier I’ve become. Yet it is a different busy from the one I was accustomed to in NYC. I still make it my business to take time out with my hubby and children. I love doing that! Aside from God there is just nothing more important to me than my family.

This Sunday as a matter-a-fact, we decide not to attend a couples ministry event because we just wanted “us” time. After a long week in church almost every day, we just said its all about us now and we knew in our hearts that God would approve.  I’m always thinking and even discussing with my girlfriends on burnout and the fact that I’ve been there and done that and don’t attend to go there again. Not healthy spirituality. With that said, our CEFL growth group in FL started a book called “Falling for God:Saying Yes to His Extravagant Proposal” by Gary Moon and the first chapter almost had me in tears. I have my facebook quote under my page reiterating the quote by Dallas Willard “the greatest enemy of intimacy with God is service for God.”  That quote to me is the summary of this book. As Christians but especially as Christian leaders we have to always check ourselves in this area. We need to stay connected to our source and we need to stay in love with our Savior forever.

Speaking of staying in love, I came across this article on Fidelity is Forever. I would stay this is accurate on both counts…marriage and service to God.

Finally, some encouragement for the women out there who know God is calling them to do something but think they don’t have what it takes to step forth, guess what…these women didn’t either and they have impacted countless lives. So be encouraged!

 Holla back!