LIFT – Laura Crosby

The Minnesota State Fair started last week. The unofficial mark to the beginning of the end.

The end of the glorious season of going “up north”, going to DQ, and not going inside til neighborhood kids stop playing tag when the sun finally fades at 9:00. Biking the lakes, going without shoes and without makeup.

We estimate church attendance goes down by 30-40% in the summer and we get it. We live in a state where the only month that hasn’t had snow in recorded history is July.

People in MN play hard in the summer. There’s a concerted effort to fill up. To fill up with family time, sunshine, hide-n-seek playing, tubing, and kayaking. We do summer big.

And then all of a sudden it’s school time again and we’re all about busy and schedules and no margin. And sure, there’s a part of us that craves the order, but with it comes the stress of too much stuff and too little time.

It’s got me thinking about the rhythms of our lives.

Bill Hybels says, “As a leader, the best thing you bring to the table every day is a filled up bucket.”

I’m thinking you could substitute “parent”, “teacher”, “”boss”, “coach”….or just “person” for “leader”.

As a person, the best thing you bring to the world every day [of the year!] is a filled up bucket.

So how do you do that? If you think of some the different areas of your life – spiritual, physical, relational – what rhythms do you have that keep you replenished so that you don’t just deplete, deplete, deplete, and then madly try to fill up?

This looks flat doesn’t it?

NOT.

Every time I ride this part of this bike path I have to down-shift one. Because it is actually a gradual, but definite, incline.

Looks can be deceiving, but when I know that truth I can adapt.

Sometimes reality is hard to discern. Sometimes it’s difficult to accept. And sometimes we just want to deny it.

This guy looked responsible. Healthy. Devoted.

Not so much.

We had a perception of his character that was not rooted in reality.

Whether it’s stress, or circumstances outside our control, or sin,

facing reality and responding is a crucial part of our formation into people who look more like Jesus. And a crucial part of leadership development.

All that to say, I have a resource to share with you.

I’ve been helping facilitate some online classes called Leadership Institute for Transformation (LIFT) offered through the Willow Creek Association. The class I’ve been involved with for several co-horts is called Leading For Results. It was created and is taught by Dr. Henry Cloud, using a book he wrote called Integrity. One of the key challenges we talk about in this class is facing negative realities and adjusting.

Here’s a little taste.

We talk about 6 sources we can use to get an accurate picture of reality and then provide this tool for self-evaluation. Take a look at each source, consider what you have in place, and the suggested activity.

1. Direct relationship with God