Corinthians 3 Thursday: Scoring Goals

Today's Corinthians 3 Thursday post is going to cut straight to the point. Aren't you excited?

So far in the series, we've talked about who and where we are and where we want to go...but today we talk about HOW to get there.

Goals.

I feel like, for a lot of us, goals are these unattainable things that we all talk about and want to accomplish, but rarely ever actually achieve. 

Then there are some people - those high-minded individuals who are somehow able to take these abstract plans and make them into something MORE. They achieve.

Blech - those people.

I'm just teasing. There have been goals I have achieved, and many I haven't, but there a couple ways to move goal achievement from possibility to probability.

First, ya gotta get it in writing. According to The Leadership Training Workshop, studies show that you're 95% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. Are you kidding me?! 95%?! I always heard that writing your goals down helped you achieve them, but I think this little statistic escaped me.

Think of it like this: you would never enter into a contract with someone without getting it in writing because, without it, there's no promise of delivery, right? Same concept.

Next, you have to construct your goals in ways that make them more achievable. They need to be specific, have time constraints, and you have to have a plan.

It's not enough to say that you want to lose weight, or even that you want to lose 50 lbs. It's not even good enough to say that you want to lose 50 lbs in the next year. There's gotta be a plan. HOW are you going to achieve this goal? What are you going to do or change that will take this goal from an abstract thought to a reality? That's a game-changer.

Finally, you need to be held accountable by someone other than you. This is really hard for some of us (namely, me). We don't really like someone else keeping tabs on us. It's not their business right? If I want seconds at dinner or another piece of cake, why is that anyone's business? Because, just like I wrote in yesterday's post, I'm not the Lone Ranger. 

I need help. We all do sometimes, and an accountability partner who is both firm and encouraging can do wonders in helping you achieve your goals.

One real word of encouragement here: don't let perfect be the enemy of good. My awesome sister-in-love, Jamie, taught me that. I have no idea where she got it, but it's an awesome phrase.

So often I drop the ball on a goal in a small way, and because I haven't performed perfectly, I just, plain give up.

It looks something like this:

I did SO well with my eating all day, and then I had to go and blow it by eating those french fries. Well, I've already blown it, I might as well just eat a bowl of ice cream while I'm at it. 

 Here's the dangerous part though: that second statement, the one in bold print, is often not a conscious thought. It happens somewhere back in the recesses of our minds, and before we know it, feelings of guilt, shame, and internal ridicule push us over the edge into defeat. 

This is when renewing your mind becomes important. Take every thought captive and make sure you're thinking is right and grounded in truth. Don't let perfect become the enemy of good.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 

Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--

his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:2

We demolish arguments and every pretension

that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,

and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5

So, with all that having said. What are my plans? What are my goals? There are many. However, today, I'll go over the ones for this blog.

1. I have to start writing more regularly, and I have to start networking. It's a big deal, and I've keep talking about it, but I definitely haven't followed all the steps above.
2. I will start blogging at least three times per week. I will accomplish this by getting up early, doing my quiet time, and then writing before everyone gets up. I will also keep a journal of blogging ideas so I don't just "come up dry" when it's time to write.
3. I will faithfully share all posts on the blogs over to the left. I will also dedicate myself to reading and commenting on at least two of the other posts that are linked-up to those blogs.
4. By the end of the summer (August 31st), I will ask some of the other bloggers I know if they will allow me to "guest post" for them. This is the hardest for me because it makes me leave my comfort zone, swallow my pride, and subject myself to possible rejection. Nevertheless, it has to be done.
5. Finally, I will ask...um...someone to make me accountable to these things. Who? Crud. I could ask Josiah, but he's so busy working, I'm not sure he's going to have the time to really be responsible for holding me accountable. Um...Jamie? Esther? One or both of you want the job?  Either way, by next week I will have an accountability partner and I'll let you know who that is. 

That's all for me!  What are YOU going to do? What big, huge goals has God put on your heart to accomplish? I can't wait to hear about them...and HOW you're going to get 'em done!

Now it's time to link up!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Corinthians 3 Thursday: Mission IS Possible

I'm about to be blatantly honest here. Are you ready?

I'm getting tired of writing these Corinthians 3 Thursday posts.

There, I said it.

They're not really fun posts for me to write. There's not even some big revelation about myself or "lesson learned" moment.

We're just plodding along through the coaching process, trying to plan out where we want to go.

And that's precisely why this is important. If I hadn't committed to writing these posts each Thursday, then I probably wouldn't be going through the process at all.

It actually took me a bit to come by that little tidbit of divine revelation. I was thinking to myself yesterday, "I don't even want to write that stupid post. No one reads them or really participates anyway. With The Art of Marriage conference coming up this weekend, I have a lot of other stuff I could be doing. I don't really have the time to waste."

AHA...there's the kicker. I prayed and prayed and prayed about these posts, and while I have to say the public response has been...um...underwhelming, this blog ISN'T Seeking the Symphony yet. It isn't the ministry's blog yet. It's still Alissa's Life Under Construction, and what that means is that He's still working on me. (Obviously, He'll still be working on me after the transition as well, but that won't really be the total point of the blog.)

I need to go through this process because I need to go through it. If not one other person reads this or follows the steps, having a dedicated day to pursue this journey holds me accountable and keeps me on task.

However, if you ARE reading this, then maybe God wants you to take some time to do some assessment, too. Just sayin'....

Now, for the meat of today's post: what is my mission?

Last week we talked about God's vision for our lives. As a refresher, mine was "I want to share God-given words that will change people’s hearts, draw them closer to Him, and give Him glory!"

To know your mission, you must have a vision because the mission is simply how to get there. In other words, the vision is the destination, and the mission is the road map.

There is a chapter in Christian Coaching, by Gary Collins, on "Moving with a Mission," but I'm going to veer a little from that because...um...I don't like the way he wrote it. 

Haha...look at that...Alissa questioning the expert.

Here's the deal, it's a FANTASTIC book, and I highly recommend it, but this one section didn't really do it for me. It was about writing a Mission Statement, and while that's all well and good, it came out really close to the vision statement, and therefore, is kind of redundant.

So, here's what I say...take your vision, and then figure out specifically, using action words, what you need to do to get there.

Make sure you pray first. Always pray first...hard.

Note: these are not goals. Think of the mission statement as an intermediary between your vision and your goals. Does that make sense?I hope so because I don't really know how else to put it. 

Let's take a look at mine so you can see what I mean.

In my vision statement I talk about sharing God-words, but what does that look like practically? What do I need to do to share those words? This is what I've come up with:

I will share the words God puts on my heart by dedicating myself to regularly posting on my blog, becoming a published author, and speaking to groups of people at events or seminars.

Now, please notice, those are not goals. We'll talk about goal-setting next week, but as a preview, goals detail steps that are specific and have a time frame assigned to them. For example, I might set a goal of writing blog posts at least three times per week. But as I said, we'll talk more about that next week.

So, what does your mission look like? Where is God taking you on your journey?

I'll leave you today with some words by Laurie Beth Jones from Jesus, Life Coach (but I'm reading them in Christian Coaching):

People with clearly defined missions have always led those who haven't any. You are either living your mission, or you are living someone else's.

Man...how powerful is that?

It's your turn! Please comment or link below! And feel free to grab my button on the right, too!

Corinthians 3 Thursday: Vision Check-Up

I am so totally late writing the Corinthians 3 Thursday post this week. But...better late than never, I suppose.

In the three weeks previous we talked about where we are right now: values, strengths, weaknesses, spiritual gifts, and passion.

Now it's time to look to the future!

On rare occasions Josiah and I get to go on little drives his family calls "explores." They're awesome little day or weekend trips to somewhere...nowhere. We just go in whatever direction we want and see what fun things we can find.

This is a GREAT way to have fun every now and then...but it's not a great way to live your life.

That's what most of us do though, right? We are so intent on going that we just keep moving, taking no stock of where we are or where we're going?

She does not ponder the path of life;

her ways wander, and she does not know it.

Proverbs 5:6

Now, in all honesty, in context that's talking about avoiding the forbidden or adulterous woman. However, if we're not paying attention to where we're going, who knows where our feet may trod.

At the very least, it's clear here that God wants us to pay attention to where we're going, to keep our ways straight. And that, my friends, is why we're talking about vision today, or more accurately, we're talking about making a vision statement.

Leadership expert and author John C Maxwell says: "Vision leads the leader. It paints the target. It sparks and fuels the fire within. Show me a leader without vision, and I'll show you someone who isn't going anywhere" (from Christian Coaching by Gary Collins).

But maybe you don't consider yourself a leader. Does this apply to you? Absolutely. Whether you like it or not, everyone leads someone. It's far better to do so consciously and intentionally than haphazardly. Whom do you lead? Your children? Youth at church? Your coworkers? Subordinates?

Even if you can't think of one person you lead, you still need to be aware of one person: YOU. You need to know where you're going in order to get there successfully.

So what is a vision exactly?

"A vision is a clear picture of something we want to have exist in the future. It is a target we intend to reach....Vision pulls us forward. Once that vision clearly is in mind, we can deal with the practical strategy steps of getting where we want to go" (Gary Collins, Christian Coaching).

All well and good right? But how the heck do you go about formulating a STATEMENT OF VISION. It just sounds like something intimidating, doesn't it?

It's actually a lot simpler than it sounds...and of course, in Christian Coaching, we're given steps.

First things first, pray. As Christians, there's no point seeking vision for our lives without seeking direction from the Almighty first.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, 

and do not lean on your own understanding. 

In all your ways acknowledge him, 

and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

The steps of a man are established by the Lord, 

when he delights in his way;

Psalm 37:23

Next, take your time. This is actually the hardest step for me. I like to just know. Once I start working on something, I just want to get it done. But you really can't rush this process. 

Now that we're clear on that, take a look inside. Consider values, passions, and gifts we talked about in the previous weeks, all of them will be at the foundation of your vision.

We also need to learn from visionary people, either in person or by reading. Let these people inspire you and serve as an example.

Finally, construct the vision statement and check it with the 4 Cs. Is it clear? Is it concise? Is it consistent with Scripture and who you are? Is it compelling (does it inspire and motivate you)?

To give you an idea of what it might look like, here's my vision statement:

I want to share God-given words that will change people’s hearts, draw them closer to Him, and give Him glory!

That's me. That's my perfect picture of the future. What does your perfect picture of your future look like? Where do you want to be?

Now, this whole vision thing comes with a warning: just completing a vision statement will not get you where you want to go. You're also going to need to set up goals and strategies for achieving your vision...and then work hard to get 'em done.

The vision won't stay alive on its own. Life gets in the way if we let it. It will take conscious effort to keep to your path, always looking to God for guidance, of course.

Now it's your turn. What's your vision?

Please comment or link below! And feel free to grab my button on the right, too!

If you're just now joining us, Corinthians 3 Thursdays are designed to help us find our pursue our individual callings based upon two Corinthians verses: 1 Corinthians 3:8-11 and  2 Corinthians 3:17-18. As  guide, we're using the book Christian Coaching by Gary Collins. For more information, you can visit this post or any of the earlier Corinthians 3 Thursday posts below:

Corinthians 3 Thursday Post 1: Clarifying Values
Corinthians 3 Thursday Post 2: Pursuing Passion
Corinthians 3 Thursday Post 3: Got Gifts?

Corinthians 3 Thursday: Got Gifts?

Since the creation of Earth there has been a plan. Part of that plan included an individual who was absolutely unique. No other person in the world has ever been or will ever be exactly the same...and that person is YOU.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to bstruggle with the laste.

Psalm 139:16

You are fearfully and wonderfully made by the Creator of this universe to do something and be something special! He made you unique, and that's what we're talking about today. How are you unique?

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

What are your talents?

What are your spiritual gifts?

If you're anything like me when I was first presented with this question, then you're probably familiar with the answers to the first couple questions, but at the last your eyes glazed over and you could hear crickets chirping.

I'm a talker...DUH. Communication has always been a strength of mine. I'm a semi-decent leader, too. My weaknesses? I hate confrontation, and will avoid it at all costs...and sometimes those costs are great. I can also take on too much, which means I'm not wise with my energy and I end up not putting forth the effort I should on the important stuff. Talents? I speak, write, act, and sing. 

But that's the easy part. Most of us have known what we were "good at" since we were small. The world is fantastic about telling us exactly where our strengths lie...well, to be more accurate, it's good at telling us where our strengths don't lie. 

Take some time to think about the answers to the first two questions now. List them out...I dare you. Seeing yourself on paper is different. It helps solidify the concept of "you" in your mind.

Okay...now for the third one. You can tackle this one a couple ways. 

First, you could just do what I did and take Elmer Towns' Spiritual Gifts Assessment. It takes about 10-15 minutes, and after seeing some other people's results (including mine) I say it's pretty accurate.

OR, for those of you who are bound and determined not to take an assessment, you can take a look at the list below and see which gifts seem the most "you" (from Appendix G of Christian Coaching by Gary Collins). Once you're done with that, go back and look at the ones you checked and rate them as a 1, 2, or 3. 1=very strong and descriptive of you. 2=somewhat strong and descriptive of you. 3=least descriptive of the items you checked. 

Administration	Shepherding	Intercession
Craftsmanship	Wisdom	Leadership
Evangelism	Apostleship	Prophecy
Giving	Creative Communication	Teaching
Hospitality	Encouragement	Healing *
Knowledge	Faith	Miracles *
Mercy	Helps	Counseling **
Interpretation *	Celibacy **	Serving **
Tongues *	Music **
*   These gifts are not included in some lists because they are more easily identified.
** These gifts are not listed in Scripture but are identified by some Christians as spiritual gifts.

The list of 1s may be your spiritual gifts. However, to confirm this, you may want to give the list to someone who knows you well to repeat the process. That may give you a stronger idea of the areas in which God has gifted you.

"The areas in which God has gifted you." That is an awesome phrase!! Our living God has chosen to give each of us gifts to go along with our completely unique personalities so that we may accomplish the plans He set out for us!! 

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:10-11

Amen, indeed! 

When I got my spiritual gifts assessment results, I was a little surprised, not by what they were, but by the fact that they were four...and they were dead even. However, that's not really too big of a shocker when you look at the rest of my life. 

I'm a dabbler. I have a tendency to be a "jack of all trades, but master of none." So, when Mr. Towns' assessment tagged me at dead even in Teaching, Exhortation, Mercy Showing, and Shepherding, there may have been initial surprise, but then it made sense. Plus, they kind of just go together in a lot of ways. 

What about you? How has God made you unique? What are your strengths, talents, and gifts?

This is really important because, combined with what we've done the last two weeks, this will help us construct our visions and missions next week! We're almost done assessing where we are, and then we get to move forward!!

Please comment or link below! And feel free to grab my button on the right, too!

If you're just now joining us, Corinthians 3 Thursdays are designed to help us find our pursue our individual callings based upon two Corinthians verses: 1 Corinthians 3:8-11 and  2 Corinthians 3:17-18. As  guide, we're using the book Christian Coaching by Gary Collins. For more information, you can visit this post or any of the earlier Corinthians 3 Thursday posts below:

Corinthians 3 Thursday Post 1: Clarifying Values
Corinthians 3 Thursday Post 2: Pursuing Passion

Corinthians 3 Thursday: Pursuing Passion

Last week we talked about values, what ours are, and why it's important to define them. This week we're talking about passion.

Did you hear me? I said PASSION.

In Christian Coaching, Collins says: 

Your passion is what fires you up. It is a driving force that can give your life its greatest energy and fulfillment. If you get in touch with your passion (or passions) and let it motivate you in healthy directions, passion can be a powerful influence for good. It can invigorate your life and raise you to higher levels of achievement and self-satisfaction. If you ignore your passion or let it fade, your life becomes duller, emotionally flatter, less fulfilled, and sometimes tinged with apathy. Like a speech or a sermon without passion, life without passion can be boring, colorless, and uninspiring. 

So, live with passion and be invigorated, or live without it and let your life be dull and flat. Sounds like a no-brainer to me.

But, as a Christian, is passion for anything other that serving God self-serving? Absolutely not! As long as your passion is in-line with the word of God, then it should be seen as a gift from Him!

Bruce Wilkinson, author of The Dream Giver says:

God has put a driving passion in you to do something special. Why wouldn't he? You are created in his image - the only person exactly like you in the universe. No one else can do your dream. (This is actually a quote Collins provides in Christian Coaching). 

Here's the deal, not everyone can be "in ministry;" it just isn't plausible. However, everyone can minister where they are, and there's no better way to do that then to pursue a God-given passion.

So, whether you eat or drink,

or whatever you do, 

do all to the glory of God. 

1 Corinthians 10:31

Lead a life worthy of your calling,

for you have been called by God.

Ephesians 4:1

So what is your passion?

Some people know what their passion is right away. They immediately know the subjects or activities that ignite their souls.

Then their are people like me. I've been a mom since I was 19. Now, as a mom with four children and one on the way, I'm lucky if I can find an ounce of energy or passion when I fall in bed with my husband at night, and I adore him! Now you're telling me I'm supposed to figure out some other passion?!

Luckily, Collins gives some great suggestions for finding out exactly what your passion is. 

• Ask somebody who knows you well to identify your passions.
• Think of times in your life when you felt exuberant and excited to be alive. What might this say about your passion?
• When you were young and your parents could not find you, what did they assume you were doing? What does this say about your passion?
• If you had no limitations in terms of money or time, what would you like to do?
• Look at your environment. Does this reveal what really interests and excites you?
• Search the Scriptures, wait, and pray that God will reveal his passion for your life.

I suggest implementing the last suggestion before pursuing the rest. We should always seek God in prayer and in His Word, particularly when we're looking for His guidance.

When I performed the tasks above, one answer screamed the loudest: books.

Josiah and Destiny said "books;" when I was young and quiet for a long time, my parents knew I was probably somewhere reading; my home is filled with books. 

Books, books, and more books. I love books. When I go Barnes and Noble, being surrounded by all the authors' words, imaginations, and experiences fills me with an electricity I can feel from my scalp to my tiptoes. That's a tell-tale sign of passion, my friends.

If you're thinking the same thing I was when I realized this, then you're thinking, "We've crowned our new Mrs. Nerd Universe 2014, whose overwhelming passion in life is...books."

And that's probably true. I am a nerd, and I'm cool with that. However, upon further examination, there's a deeper passion there. Like a fraction, we need to reduce this to its simplest form: words.

I don't just love books, I love words.

I love to write them, speak them, sing them, read them, hear them. My main love language is even Words of Affirmation.

Words, words, words...I loooooove words. They energize me and ignite a fire somewhere deep in my soul.

When I can't sleep at night or feel very passionately about a certain subject, I write books, blog posts, and speeches in my head. I dream of delivering messages God has laid on my heart to huge crowds of people. I dream of changing the world for Christ through the words I write and speak.

God gave me words.

All that having been said, that's probably enough words from me for the day.

It's your turn! What are your passions? If possible, try to think beyond family. As moms, we are passionate about our kids, but I feel very strongly that we should have other passions, as well...if for no other reason than to teach children how to pursue theirs.

If you're just now joining us, Corinthians 3 Thursdays are designed to help us find our pursue our individual callings based upon two Corinthians verses: 1 Corinthians 3:8-11 and  2 Corinthians 3:17-18. As  guide, w're using the book Christian Coaching by Gary Collins.For more information, you can visit this post or any of the earlier Corinthians 3 Thursday posts below:

Corinthians 3 Thursday Post 1: Clarifying Values

Please link up or share your thoughts in the comments section! Feel free to grab and share my button, too!

An Announcement About Thursday...on Tuesday!

A couple weeks ago a dear friend confided in me that he felt lost. He was working hard in a lot of different areas, but still didn't feel fulfilled and had no idea which direction to go in next. For some reason, this resonated so deeply with me, and I wanted to reach out and help him somehow. Then I figured out why I felt his plight so deeply...

I feel lost, too. Wow - talk about the blind wanting to lead the blind.

Let me define, though, what I mean by lost (from my perspective, not his, of course - I can only speak for myself). As a Christian, I know I am always loved and taken care of, and there is always a plan, even if I don't know what that plan is.

In his book The Circle Maker Mark Batterson talks about a point in his life when he felt like his life resembled an airline joke - the pilot comes on the overhead speaker and says, "I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is we're lost; the good news is we're making great time."

My life feels like that a lot of the time ( and you know that because I've written about it...oh...eight billion times). The issue, I've discovered, is that in order to know where you're going, you have to know where you are.

Like Bilbo discovered in the movie The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug when he and the dwarfs are lost in Mirkwood Forest, sometimes you have to stop moving, running around in circles, look up (or in his case climb up) and take an accurate assessment of where you are. Only then can you determine the direction in which you should move.

God reveals His plans to us in many different ways, and He revealed to me yesterday that He'd been smacking me in the face with answers for the past 8 weeks. I was just too buried to see it.

At the end of my last semester at Liberty I took a Christian Life Coaching class. Many of the discussion board assignments for this class were designed to make you think about the material from a personal perspective, but because I was operating in overload, and under some serious time constraints, I kept the material at arm's length and attacked it mainly from a scholastic perspective.

But times, they are a changin'. It's time to get personal.

And of course, I've decided I want to bring you along on the journey! Aren't you excited?!

First, I should probably share a little about what the heck life coaching is...and what it isn't. Actually, we'll start there.

It isn't therapy or counseling. Those deal with the past, this deals with the present and future.

It isn't mentoring. Mentors guide you to be more like them; life coaches want you to be more like you.

It isn't discipleship. Discipleship is purely spiritual in nature, while coaching deals with many different aspects of life, albeit from a Christian perspective (if you're dealing with Christian Coaching).

So what is it? Well, Life Coaching is helping someone become exactly who or where they want to be. It's telling them, but helping them discover through thoughtful questions and guided self-examination.

Christian Coaching, on the other hand, is helping someone become exactly who or where GOD wants them to be. You use the same methods, but instead of just seeking inward, you first seek upward.

If you'd like more information on this, I would strongly advise you to take a look at Christian Coaching by Dr. Gary Collins. It's the main book I'll be using throughout this series of blogs, and it was the main textbook for the course.

And of course, I'm not just writing this because I'm a huge over-sharer...I want you to walk along with me!! Have you been feeling lost? Do you feel like your life should have greater purpose or a more defined direction? Then let's take this journey together!

(Disclaimer: I have taken one Christian Life Coaching class and am going by the book on this one. What this means? I am in no way a certified life coach. This is all amateur, folks. If this sparks a serious interest, I strongly advise you to seek a real life coach to help you on your journey!! But until then, we can have some fun together.)

And you'll never guess what else...this series is going to be my first link up!!! I'm so EXCITED!!!!! Can you tell?

Thus far, I've been very intimidated by the link up process, and I've just kept telling myself, I'll wait to start a link up when I get Seeking the Symphony up and running. But guess what, that's taking a while, and in a recent talk with my Life Coaching professor, which was invaluable (more on that later), I discovered that it's okay that it's okay that it's taking a while. Sometimes, things that need to be done right take time...and I've got to learn to be okay with that.

So, with that, I introduce to you Corinthians 3 Thursdays!!!

Why Corinthians 3, you ask? And which Corinthians: 1 or 2? BOTH

As I was looking for Bible verses on our purpose according to Christ, I found the following verses:

For we are God's co-workers.

You are God's field, God's building.

According to God's grace that was given to me,

as a skilled master builder I have laid a foundation,

and another builds on it,

because no one can lay any other foundation that what has been laid - 

that is, Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:8-11

Now the Lord is the Spirit;

and where the Spirit of the Lord is. there is freedom.

We all, with unveiled faces, are reflecting the glory of the Lord

and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory;

this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18

Two verses, from both Paul's first and second letters to the Corinthians, and both in the third chapters, beautifully articulate the purpose of this series.

I don't want to find direction and purpose according to my own plans, Instead, by following these steps, I am praying God will reveal HIS divine purpose and plan for my life...at least this next stage of it. We're laying a foundation for Jesus to build on, being transformed by Him.

That is the purpose of this series, and I sincerely hope you'll come along with me!

Now because this is a process, if you decide you want to come along, but you need to skip a week or two here or there, I would strongly advise you to go back to the next step for YOU. This is not a race to purpose, people. We all have our own lives and our own schedules. If you decide you want to link up with your blog and you're "behind," just link up with what you've got. Ain't nobody judging around here.

I think that's enough for today. This Thursday, we'll have our first link up, and we'll talk about values and why it's important not just to have them, but to be able to define them!