The Great Adventure

When I was graduating from high school my AP English teacher asked us to write our life story. The title of my story was "The Great Adventure." I had been on one mission trip with Teen Mania to Costa Rica and I had experienced a few leadership opportunities in my youth group and at school. The story I wrote was about my walk with God and my personal relationship with Jesus Christ, I referred to it as the experience that changed my life forever.

I don't think I fully realized the impact of those words, because I could not have possibly predicted the future. The rest of the story is about the adventures God had brought me on through my high school years and anticipation of where he might lead me next. I ended the paper with the lines of a Stephen Curtis Chapman song:

The journey of life begins for another day with God's grace streching out as far as the eye can see and beyond...far beyond. Only the Author of life know completely what lies ahead...the moutaintops of joy to be experienced as well as the valleys of sorrow to be endured. To Him there are no surprises but He takes pleasure in filling our lives with them, and all the while His consuming love for those He created keeps Him never more than a heartbeat away. This is the miracle of grace in motions given freely to those who will receive it by faith...this is a life like no other...this is the great adventure!

I could not have predicted the adventures I have experienced with God. I didn't even know a life like this existed.

At the Leadership Summit Gary Haugen of the International Justice Mission spoke. He talked about how God calls us on an adventure to work that is often hopeless, scary and hard. Why? Because it is only with Him that the work can be accomplished. I know this to be true, because I've experienced it in my life. I'm experiencing it now.

I am so grateful for the great adventure God has brought me on and I plan to continue this path all the days of my life. Where to next? I don't know. A few years ago I stopped trying to predict. I'm just enjoying the ride.

Ax.i.oms?

American Heritage Dictionary defines an axiom as: An established rule, principle, or law.

Bill Hybels just released a book titled Ax.i.om. The idea behind the book is that leaders make decisions based on succinct, practical, portable leadership proverbs. Last year at the Leadership Summit Colin Powell shared his, he calls it the Powell Principles.

I'm fascinated by this concept of axioms - principles to live by condensed in a sentence that can be shared with others. I know I have some fundamental principles, I don't know if I've ever put them in to words. It is something I plan to work on, probably on a plane ride to some foreign place when I can't sleep and I've seen all the movies.

An example of an axiom I heard that I liked is a line in the movie The Great Debaters. This was something that Denzel Washington used to tell his children:

"We do what we have to do, so we can do what we want to do."

What are your axioms? What principles do you use in guiding life decisions?

Inspirational quotes

One of my favorite sources for inspirational quotes is Teddy Roosevelt. His quotes are always action oriented - they address failure as a learning opportunity, not as a defining moment. This week I am attending the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. It is a time to refresh my spirit and be inspired by other leaders. I expect this year to be like past years and leave with some innovative ideas.

Tomorrow morning an opening presentation is on decision making. Teddy has a quote on that:

"In any moment of decision,
the best thing you can do is the right thing.
The worst thing you can do is nothing."

--Theodore Roosevelt

I don't know who the author of the quote is, but I often heard people say, "choosing to do nothing is still a choice." I choose to do something and if it doesn't work out, I learn from the mistake and keep going.

Interesting International Facts

Recently I wrote a post on the Republic of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has fallen on difficult times with hyperinflation, low food supply, and troubles in leadership and a democratic change over of the presidency. These are only a few of the struggles in Zimbabwe right now.

On an airplane ride from South Africa to the States I sat next to a bright and lively young girl named Perseverance. She is from Zim and was on her first flight to America to participate in a Congressional Young Leaders conference for two weeks. Based on our conversations, she has all the makings of being a future leader for Africa. She told me something interesting. Due to Zim's unstable financial market the value of their currency doesn't change daily but nearly hourly. I'd already heard that, it isn't the interesting part - the interesting part is that there are people who purchase foreign currency and cash it in (exchange it) when the value is high compared to their local currency. She said that these people are among the most wealthy in the country of Zimbabwe right now. They spend their days watching the fluctuation and cash in when it's in their favor. Kind of like playing the stock market. Fascinating!

Discovering Destiny

I am nearing the end of the book Ascent of a Leader. Though many of the concepts I am familiar with, it was a good reminder of how to be a leader worth following; the importance of choosing character and conviction over opportunity, and how important it is to align our beliefs with our actions. That is the kind of leader I want to follow, and that is the kind of leader I want to be.

The fifth and final rung of the character ladder is "discovering your destiny." I don´t much like the word destiny. I always felt like it was passive, sitting and waiting for greatness to fall out of the sky in to your lap. This book describes it as preparing for God´s best in our lives.

The authors say:
Without a doubt, discovering destiny occurs at just the right time. It can´t be forced, and we can´t rush it. We typically cannot even imagine it. God takes the initiative to lift us up when he chooses...God places people he can trust into the right places at the right time. He tests and refines them on the character ladder so that when the right opportunities arise, they are ready for the challenge.

Over a year ago I wrote a post on dreams at the time of the post I felt a stirring in my soul to prepare to go to the next level. I didn´t know what that meant and I certainly wouldn´t have predicted this outcome, but I can tell you without a doubt that letting go of my plans for my life and letting God direct it has been the best decision I ever made. He has taken me to places beyond my dreams. It is a path I plan to pursue all the days of my life. And, just so you know, I don´t expect to ever attain it. It is a life-long journey that will continue to lead me to unexpected places, doing interesting things. Where will it lead next? I don´t know, but I trust God to show me when it is the right time and the right opportunity.