Love Learn Lead October 27, 2016

How did we reach the end of October so quickly?! This year is flying by, and I think the only consolation is that it means that election season will soon come to a close. I hope wherever you are you are enjoying the changing leaves, fall flavored lattes, and all that this season has to offer. Here is this week’s Love, Learn, Lead. Enjoy!

Love

I am lovingPaleo Ginger Snap cookies! A couple of weekends ago, our friends invited us over for dinner and I offered to bring desert. It being fall, I made one of my husband’s favorites: Soft Molasses cookies. However, since cutting out gluten and processed sugar from my diet two years ago, it usually means me opting out of desert. This time though I remembered that I pinned the recipe for these cookies, so I thought I would give them a try! They are the perfect combination of crunchy and spicy, and go great with a cup of coffee or chai!

Learn

Sometimes life seems to be one long lesson in patience. Have you ever felt that way? Last week I shared how my husband and I have been in a time of trying, unsuccessfully, to make some things happen in our life. We have been in a time of waiting. Yet over the past few weeks, I keep being reminded of these two verses:

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” Proverbs 16:9

and

“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.” Psalm 127:1

There are times in our lives when it seems like nothing is happening, yet if we are following Jesus, God is moving on our behalf in ways that we cannot yet see (Isaiah 64:4). This is a promise that I am learning to trust.

Do you too feel like you are still learning to trust?

Lead

Leadership tip #2: LISTEN

Very often we make the mistake of believing that as a leader, our job is to fix things and to always have the right answer. So when those we are leading come to us with a problem, we are tempted to cut them off, to solve their problem, and to tell them what to do. But that is often the worst thing we can do.

Political activist, Ralph Nader said, “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” When we don’t take the time to listen, we miss the opportunity to help others figure out for themselves, their best course of action. It also causes them to doubt their own God-given abilities, and they begin to believe they will always need someone to lead them. This is a loss to our world that is already experiencing a shortage of leaders.

So, when those you are leading come to you for help or advice, listen to them fully. If necessary, ask questions to help them on their journey. The answer will soon become apparent. Often, the problem is not that they don’t know what to do, but rather that they need to hear that they can. They need to be told that they are able to do the hard thing.