Selfless Leadership

The best characteristic to see in a leader is humility. A good leader is someone who sits in a high and worthy position, but does not act like they are high and worthy. I love that in a person. My youth leader is so humble and reaches out to the students with a huge heart for them. God has done so much in his life and gives him great skills for his job, but my youth leader is not one to boast unless it is about the Lord. That is how I want to be when I display my leadership abilities when I am an adult. I want to be someone that people look towards for help, comfort, guidance, and stability. I want to draw in people and not send them away because of any cockiness I might possess. In my career, I want to be in a leadership position. And in that position I want to, in everything I do, not be wrapped up in my own selfishness, but in other people. Most importantly, I want to always be...


HoldingHisRightHand

><>

Last Two Years

"Haste makes waste."

Some might think of this as hurrying through homework creates bad grades. Painting a portrait in a hurry creates bad works of art. Writing an essay 10 minutes before it is due creates low quality work and most likely, sloppy handwriting.

Let's take this to a whole different aspect. High school. We want to trudge through our day just to mark it off our calendars. What is on our minds? College. You want to get out of your house. You want to have freedom. You want to be an individual. You want to make your own decisions. High school sucks, right?

But does it really? When do we ever look at all the blessings we have during this stage in our life. When do we ever realize how much we have to be thankful for? During high school, you gain friendships, with your peers and also with your teachers. Even if you don't have a huge group of friends, you can probably think of that one person you really enjoy to be around. Also, our schooling will help our future. When you seriously think about it, that is such a huge blessing.

We can have such good experiences in these last two years if we just choose to. You can have a bad attitude about these times, or you can make the best of what you have. Life is worth it. That means these two years are essential. Make the most of it... slow down. Take the good and fun times in. You don't want to look back at high school like it was one big rush to get to the next stage in your life. You don't want to think of it as a time where you did not care and just wanted to leave those high school doors in haste.

Don't waste it!

><>
c.faulls

Joy x2 + Grief/2

"Friendship doubles joy and halves grief." -Egypt


I definitely believe that this proverb is true in my life and in the lives of the people around me. My friends and family truely value relationships in life. They impact our lives and give us so much gain. My best friend's granddad died earlier this year. It was a sudden and very tragic death for his family. I believe that this family was impacted by the love of friendship shown to them during this difficult time. My best friend was grieving because of his grandfather's loss, but the love of his friends, church, family, and God lightened the grief he felt. Imagine going through something like that and not having anyone helping you through it. Imagine there being no one to turn to, to cry on their shoulder, to hug, to cling to. Complete darkness. That is why friendships are formed to enrich and enhance life. We expierence joy and comfort through relationships. That is why we should always invest and value in friendships.


><>
c.faulls

Busy Bees

Compared to any of my relatives, I am most like my dad. We can understand each other without even explaining ourselves fully. I can just know how he's feeling. Both my father and I would rather have a fast-paced life. We enjoy staying busy and having many things to do. "Home-bodies" are something we are not. My dad feeds off of his job and the hard work he puts into everything. I really look up to him in that way. He tries his very best at everything, putting his full self into his work. Although, because we are so similar, he is probably the person in my family I see the least. He spends so much time with work, meetings, funerals, weddings, out-of-town trips, or staying in his office working with his online professor job. I spend so much time at school, school meetings, dance, church meetings, get-togethers, or with my friends.

The times we do get to see each other though, are special. Normally these times are late at night when we are the last ones up, working on tasks, and in conversation about our day. But the similarites between us, bond us together; especially since we share the same passion. We share the passion of God's work in our lives. That is what keeps us both going. That is what we cling to when all else fails. That is the most dominate similarity between my dad and I.

We are both...

HoldingHisRIghtHand.

Boldness

I've really been challenged to think about this word today-bold. So, it is an adjective. The word "bold" describes a person or an action of a person. "That was a bold move" is a common phrase used. The realization I had today is that I can be so much more bold in my actions and in my reaction to things. My best friend challenged me to this today. He made me wake up to the awareness that I live in my own bubble. He didn't say this to me, but it made me aware of myself. I like being in the places I am "comfortable" in. I want to be forced into uncomfortable situations where I can display the characteristic of boldness. You can display a characteristic of boldness by talking to that person that usually you would not talk to, inviting someone to church even though you are normally hesitant, or even smiling and saying "hi" to someone in the hallway when normally you would look awkwardly at the side wall as you walk. I want to come to the point where people see me as a bold person. A bold person does not conceal their beliefs in a compartment in their mind forever, but shares it to the world. We only have 86,400 seconds in a day. A bold person would use their seconds being confident and courageous. That is how I would like to be.

><>
c.faulls