Is Your Superhero a Leader Worth Following?

The first night back here in Austin, Bryson wanted me to take him to see the new “Spider-Man: Homecoming” Movie. He had already seen it once – once wasn’t enough (in this photo, you can see he’s loved Spider-Man for years). He wanted to see it again, so that was our Thursday “date night” fun. Of course Spider-Man had his webs and incredible acrobatic abilities. But the reality check is that Spider-Man is just a 15-year old kid who lacks grace – is clumsy and even stumbles around when he first puts on his suit. He eventually gets the suit on and once he does, he’s got the powers that go along with it, but those powers, if not used with the right attitude, motivation and precision, can certainly cause plans to go awry.

Not to be a movie spoiler, but one of my favorite scenes was just after the young Peter Parker (Spider Man) who has the utmost desire to be a part of The Avengers squad and passionately wanted to prove himself, but had some major foiled heroic feats. It was then that Tony Stark (Iron Man of The Avengers team) asked for Peter’s Spider Man suit back. Here’s the script from that scene:

Peter (Spiderman): “I was just trying to be like you.” |
Tony Stark (Iron Man): “I wanted you to be better. I'm going to need the suit back.”
Peter: “But I'm nothing without this suit.”
Tony: “If you're nothing without this suit, then you shouldn't have it.”

That resonated with me. I started thinking about what we think makes us a great leader: position, acclaim, the way we dress and look, notoriety, ego, status, financial means, etc. We think that we, too, are nothing without all of those identifiers. But all of that isn’t leadership. We’ve seen some of the greatest world leaders, religious and political leaders, Hollywood actors and musicians – fall because of all those reasons and because they didn’t have the marks to sustain credible leadership qualities.

A leader worth following is one that is trustworthy, honest, kind, considerate, loving, speaks optimism and gratitude. He/She is a role model that we’d sure like to be like. They carry a “presence” about themselves that speaks confidence in their own abilities, yet are encouraging and are quick to build others up. They seem to see the good in just about everything, and we never hear them complaining or criticizing others. Their heart is what we see first – NOT, their ego.

I’d like to say that I know a lot of people who are just like that, but honestly, as long as we are on this side of heaven, I don’t think, realistically, we’ll find anyone who fits that bill entirely – not even Iron Man, Spider-Man OR Superman or anyone else who is earth-bound!

When we put on our “Jesus Christ Suit” (sounds like I’m comparing him to Spider Man – I’m not! -- “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” Romans 13:14), THEN, and only then, do we have the ability to be super-heroes to our friends, family and peers.

When we clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ AND put on our whole armor of God (See Ephesians 6:10-18), we can operate with a kingdom set of rules that have the power, when used correctly, to transform our ordinary life into an extraordinary one. That means way more than being one of Marvel’s super-heroes, it means being an everyday hero who aligns himself and herself under the leadership and authority of Jesus Christ to positively influence and impact everything and everyone within our sphere of influence. Come on. Let’s go dress up for our kingdom assignments and be a super hero to someone today!

Being a Self Leader Before Becoming a Leader of Others

Yesterday morning, in our devotions, the subject of self leadership came up. Self leadership is a discipline that causes us to first strive for being a good leader to ourselves, even before considering being a leader to someone else. Self leadership is introspection and awareness of how and what we think and how we react. Self leadership is having a developed sense of who we are, what we can do, where we are going coupled with the ability to influence our communication, emotions and behaviors on the way to getting there.

Here's an example: Someone tells a lie about us and we take in that negativity. As a self leader, we can think I'll get even with them. I'll give them my two cents worth. I'll expose the truth about them. Or, as a self leader, we can have a little visit with ourselves and offer suggestions for a better way to handle the situation. We can say things like I need to confront them with kindness to see what caused their actions. I could speak to myself about patience and tolerance and be quick to forgive them.

I can't begin to tell you how many times the enemy pushed me beyond my strength. In reality, I wanted to throw in the towel and retreat to a place of self-pity. I longed for someone to talk to about it, and I realized the one I needed to talk to was me. I recall the story of David in 1 Samuel 30 where this future king of Israel was learning to lead his troops. He wasn't by any means a highly skilled soldier at that time. Even though God poured His favor on David, one terrible day, he and his troops returned home from fighting another enemy and David and his men discovered their camp sites destroyed and their women and children had been dragged off. That would be defined as a bad day for any leader. His soldiers were tired, angry, and worried sick about their families. They were miffed at God. Some of his men spread word that they'd had it with David's leadership. They figured it's all David's fault, and they decided to stone him to death.

In this crisis David's leadership was severely tested. Eventually, he has to decide who needs leadership the most. His soldiers? The Officers? The enemy? The answer? None of the above.

In that critical moment David realized he had to lead himself first, before he could lead anyone else. Unless he had his mind and spirit together, he had nothing to offer his team. So in 1 Samuel 30:6, we read that "David strengthened himself in the Lord his God".

David understood the importance of self leadership. And although self leadership isn't talked about much, I assure you, it is the leadership that our world seems to be most lacking. How can we expect someone else to fix what's wrong in our world, our churches, our schools, our government-- if we can't fix ourselves? How effectively can any of us lead others if our spirits are sagging, our courage is wavering, and our emotions are always on the edge where we respond with knee jerk reactions instead of weighing what our next words will be, or should be?

Here's what I considered about leading myself. If a problem comes to my attention - - first, take a deep breath and have self control. Rather than having an immediate knee jerk reaction, ponder the ways to correct the problem.

Leadership is an art that I want to master. I desire to be able to remind myself who I am and how much my Heavenly Father loves me. I want to self lead myself to be patient, calm, focused and steady in the midst of my days. I want to self lead myself to be on time, attentive to others, be laser focused on them when we're speaking, and I want my first response to be kindness, gentleness, and love. Yes, I'll probably have to take myself into my mind's conference room to keep striving to get it right, but like David, keep strengthening myself in the Lord my God, until I get it right.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together -- Teamwork Leads to Victory

Day 17 of Photo Inspirations -- Birds of a Feather Flock Together!
This is the pond behind my house -- part of which is frozen -- the other part is being enjoyed by this bonded flock of Canadian geese.  Quite amusing to see them diving their heads under the water for a breakfast fish treat and flapping their wings.  They're quite stately and beautiful to look at......but, oh me, in our neighborhood, they are not a welcomed sight.  They have no respect for our yards, sidewalks and streets -- leaving their geese poo everywhere -- so much so, if you're not watching, you'll step right into it.

I understand there sure are a lot of them everywhere — in parks, on golf courses, maybe even YOUR backyard, too. Nevertheless, we still enjoy the sight of geese overhead, signaling the coming or going of our coldest months. .

I didn't post this today to discuss how to eliminate the geese problems, but I am posting to look at lessons we could learn from the geese, and apply to our own lives and teams.  In the sky, geese are an impressive visual of coordination and communication.

Lesson #1 -- Cooperation -- As geese flap their wings, they create an uplift for the bird following. By flying in a V formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if any bird were to fly alone.   Flying together creates an uplift, a surge that carries the whole farther than its individual parts could go by themselves. Comparing them to a group or team cooperating, it can achieve great things. We are truly a flock. We might not be the lead goose, but each of us has a role, even if it seems minimal. The team's forward movement, its success, is dependent on the efforts of us all.  I saw this so clearly in our team events last weekend.

Lesson #2  -- Unity -- Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to fly alone, and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front. Going it alone - being independent of the flock - leads to falling behind. What happens when a goose falls out of formation and cannot or will not reform? If the flock can fly 71% farther as a group, then the lone goose is left behind.  Anyone who has played team sports knows that each player must subordinate his desires to those of the team. His goal may be to have the highest scoring average, but that may not help the team to win the championship.

Lesson #3  -- Leadership -- When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into formation and another goose flies at the point position. True leadership is reproducing himself so that others can bear the load and even be able to assume responsibilities if the leader is absent for a period of time.   Others get to step up and show their leadership abilities.

Lesson #4 -- Encouragement -- The geese in formation honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.   To be the lead bird, is to be a target, and that can be stressful and wearying. The leader doesn't always know what is going on among the team, how the members feel, or what questions or misconceptions they may have. Too many times all the leader hears is the grumbling of the vocal few. Through our kind words of encouragement, we can give strength to those up ahead of us. A sincere thank you or supportive gesture, will make it all worthwhile.

Sometimes, being a team member, means we are watching from the bench. We still participate, however, by giving encouragement, by rooting for our teammates who are on the field.  I love Seattle Seahawks "twelfth man".  I sincerely believe it's one of the reasons they are such a winning team.  The fans are the "twelfth man" and they cheer from the sidelines, wear their team colors, put flags on their cars and in their yards (in my son's family's case) and they are "all in" supporters.

Lesson #5  When a goose gets sick or is shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it is able to fly again or dies. They then launch out on their own, with another formation or catch up with the flock. These are just other ways of saying we must help each other -- especially those  who have dropped out of formation.   We should never abandon a sick or wounded team member.  As long as there is hope, we should be there to help.

Imagine if our "family" team, "business" team, "sports" team or any other team behaved like a flock of geese, flying in perfect formation, cooperating as a team, unified behind the leadership, constantly encouraging those around us, and helping our team members in faith and support.  We'd reach our flock's destination in complete victory.

Now, please excuse me -- as I shoo away this "team" of geese in my backyard.  Time for them to find another place of victory!!!

We Walk by Faith, Not by Sight

Day 8 of 365 Photo Inspirations:
I have the joy of still being at my daughter's home in Texas for a few more days. until after our Leadership Summit in East Texas this weekend. What a priviIege it is to stay in their beautiful Guest Room. The first time I visited them here, Staci asked me to let her know if there was anything that was missing for a guest to have everything they need for a restful and peaceful experience. The only thing missing was a hair dryer. This time, it's there, as well as this stencil drawing just above the closet door, and directly across from the comfy and cozy bed. When I wake up, there it is....."We walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7.

What perfect words to see, meditate on, and embrace throughout my day -- especially knowing, that "walking by faith" is a journey of tremendous blessing and reward. It is a journey that is exciting, often, life-altering, and mind-boggling.

Walking by faith and not by sight requires us to go to a place we don't know, but one that God will reveal as we walk in obedience to Him.

Walking by faith means that we continue to cling to the dreams God has planted in our heart, even though it seems those dreams are risky and it's taking a long time for them to come true.

Walking by faith requires a strong determination to follow God’s plan regardless what life throws our way.

Walking by faith means we may have to do some pretty crazy things. Think about Noah building an ark for a flood when it had never even rained on earth. Think about Abraham clinging to the promise that he would be the father of many nations even though he was childless at the age of 100.

Choosing the "walking by faith" life, means we get out of our comfort zone, willing to let God take our world and turn it upside down, shake it up, and start all over again. And, in doing so, we let God out of the neat little box that we have put Him in, and let Him show up when He's good and ready -- with his PERFECT timing.

I don’t know where you are on this journey of walking by faith, but I encourage you to take the first step of the walk. That first step is the first step to success. It's a decision we'll never regret!

Peace, Sweet Peace -- Priceless

It is possible to have peace when storms are raging around us. I know, because I've experienced that peace. When "they" say "no more hope", there's the temptation to retreat, and to run for the storm shelter. We were no storm chasers, but we did know how to outwit the storm. This is the day we were told "no more hope, call in Hospice".

My husband’s name, Ronald, means “mighty wise ruler”. He lived up to that title as he was always in some form of leadership – guiding and directing business and ministry endeavors. Though we never expected our faith journey to lead us to that day, we still had the confidence that we were in a place of divine destiny. Our all-knowing, all-seeing God, knew we would be there, and He prepared us by giving us so much peace for the journey. Two verses of scripture resonated within me. “IN EVERYTHING (even this experience), give thanks for this is the will of God concerning you.” (I Thessalonians 5:18) Everything -- means everything – IN this experience -- to give Him thanks. And the second scripture was St. Paul’s words, “whatever state I’m in, to be content.” (Philippians 4:11).

That morning,a dear friend brought communion to us. How sweet was the presence of our Lord as we remembered what He did for us on Calvary. And as we thanked God for His love to us, I looked at my sweetheart, lying in his hospital bed, unable to move his legs or sit up beyond a 30 degree angle – yet so at peace, so at rest in this “state” that he was in.

Then, that visual gave way to a whole new perspective. I thought about a king – how he sits on his throne and everyone, and everything, is at his beckoned command – he is fed, dressed, and given whatever he desires. I started picturing that hospital bed as a throne. Yes! That’s it! My Ronald – my mighty, wise ruler…is on his throne, being ministered to as any other king would be – his food is brought to him, he is fed, he is dressed, he is massaged, he is loved, respected and admired. Everyone wants to please and serve him. And his responsibilities were to be at peace, and listening to His King’s voice, and to pass on to us, his subjects, the wisdom of God that he heard, and I can't begin to tell you the wisdom that poured from him to us during those days. From the beginning of that faith journey, we heard the words "Be still and know that I am God". There we were -- my king was on his throne, and I was making every effort to be like "Mary" who sat at the feet of Jesus, instead of hustling and bustling like Martha did. There are no adequate words to explain the peace we were in.

Yes, we received the "hope-less" medical prognosis, but it didn't matter, we never wavered from the spot of believing for a miracle! At any given time, I wouldn't have been at all surprised if my Honey had gotten off his throne, fully healed, restored and saying, “How about going for a walk?” And as I read these words from my blog to him, he smiled at me and gave me a king’s “thumbs up”!

And, that, and this, my friends, is the way we experienced peace then, and that's how I continue to be in that peace today. "Him I will keep in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on ME." Isaiah 26:3.
Peace, sweet peace.....PRICELESS.