Career Planning

As a result of reading all about career planning in my managing organizational change class I have been pondering about my career plan.

According to my way over priced text book there are 4 distinct stages that an person will go through during their professional life.

1. The establishment stage (ages 21-26)

2. The advancement stage (ages 26-40)

3. The maintenance stage (ages 40-60)

4. The withdrawal stage (age 60 and above)

Now this is all prefaced with the fact that there are plenty of things that will preempt or prolong these stages; however, there still are four stages to go through.

Personally, I can only reference my own walk through these stages and come to my own conclusions on where I am at in any one of these stages.

I am 25 years old, which should put me at the declining point of the establishment stage. Naturally, I start to question if this is true. Have the past four years of my life been all about trying to figure out what I am created and designed to do? Have I been stressed about my competence and potential? Have I been dependent on others, especially bosses and more experienced professionals for guidance, support, and feedback? Do I feel like the past four years have brought about the opportunity to explore possibilities while learning about my own capabilities?

Yes to them all!

I can remember my 21st birthday like it was just yesterday. Sitting in one of my friends apartments in Jordan, after a long day of painting and cleaning down at the English center. Surrounded by a little more than a half dozen people encouraging me and celebrating with me. See it was only four months before this moment that I decided it was time for me to figure out what I was made to do. I packed up and bought a one way plane ticket to Colorado Springs. Crazy! But so worth it.

For six months I was poured into by fellow believers, friends, and mentors. People that I will always cherish and feel like they had a tremendous influence on who I am today and will be tomorrow.

Then for another 6 months I sat under the teaching and mentoring of one of the most influential couples I have ever had the privilege to walk through life with. This couple took me under their wing, encouraged me, helped guide me, and most importantly prayed with me. I can still remember sipping coffee with them in Thailand, chatting with them about how hard it is to walk in the will of God and to honestly believe that you have heard from Him on a direction you could take with your life.

Next was a season of rest and reflection. For a few months I spent time writing and developing my passion for communication in Kona, Hawaii. I was blessed to develop friendships with several professionals there that I have come to deeply respect and look up too. I can remember one women specifically during that season that I will always be thankful for. She spoke the truth, whether that was to push me to write more, or to completely start over. She was tough but caring, loving, and patient with me.

My passion for learning continued to grow once I got back to Colorado Springs. I was 22 and still searching for something that fit who I was designed to be or become. I had a friend and his wife suggest project management as a direction to go educationally. As I looked into it more I found it very fascinating and decided to pursue it. I am now just a few months away from having my degree in Project Management from Colorado Technical University and am starting the process of deciding what I want to do after that.

These past four years have definitely brought about the opportunities that I needed to grow, mature, and develop into a women that deeply desires to follow after the Lord and to use her gifts, experience, knowledge, and skills to spread His glory throughout the earth. It is my prayer that the next stage of my life would grow me into a mature women of God.

Thank you all for being such a vital part of my ability to grow and mature. I am truly blessed!

November Psalms

For this month I have decided to read through Psalms.

With the holiday season upon us, I am struck by the lies that we have come to believe these holiday's stand for. I am sure that as Thanksgiving and Christmas draw closer I will ramble about the true meaning of each, but for now I want to focus on just the idea of celebration.

The idea of celebration in my mind comes straight from the bible. (Funny how one can make such a blanketed statement and have everyone believe them before they even prove what they said. So let me prove it.... )

See, celebrations are recorded all through the bible. From people celebrating the amazing ways that God provided for them in Exodus, or how about in Leviticus 23:32-41, where people were encouraged to celebrate the Sabbath. Then there is 2 Kings 23:21, 2 Chronicles 30:13 or even the feast of Tabernacles in Zechariah 14:16.

If you look at each of these times of celebration they are all pointing to the same thing... Christ. And Christ is the true motivation to celebrate anything.

Look at what some random person online name Dale Thompson wrote about the Old Testament,

"The Old Testament was the foundation for the "Chief Cornerstone." Christ is the "Cornerstone" of the church. He is the rock of our salvation, which stands as a refuge for all who would believe and be baptized. So we need to continue to celebrate the victory of the cross and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who shed his blood for many."

Our lives should be a celebration of the truth of Christ and that's why I love reading through Psalms. Although, it's rare for me to read through a Psalm and think, hmmm, did David sing and dance this Psalm?or even to think, what were the authors doing as they wrote these words. I want to read each one with that in mind this month.

At first glance not all of them are words of celebration but they are pointing to the true celebration. Take Psalms 15 for instance...

Psalm 15

A psalm of David.

¹ LORD, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?

² The one whose walk is blameless,
who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from their heart;
³ whose tongue utters no slander,
who does no wrong to a neighbor,
and casts no slur on others;
⁴ who despises a vile person
but honors those who fear the LORD;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
and does not change their mind;
⁵ who lends money to the poor without interest;
who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.

Whoever does these things
will never be shaken.

These aren't specific yippeee let's celebrate words; however, they are for those that are a part of faithful and righteous. They are for those that have accepted the salvation, grace, and mercy of Christ. For those that recognize that a little baby was born in Bethlehem, that baby lived for 33 years, died for our sins and then rise again in 3 days to take his place at the right hand of the LORD Almighty. That very LORD that David is talking about in this Psalm now is approachable by the blood of Jesus Christ. What a celebration that is!

So as I read through the Psalms and reflect their meaning in my life, I pray that you too would be encouraged to celebrate. To celebrate the amazing gift we have in Christ! That it would consume you and give you a passion to write, to sing, to dance, to create something beautiful to bring glory to His name.

May the Lord bless you and hold you to His complete truth by the Spirit that dwells within each of us that have trusted and believed.

Merry Christmas!

B

Philippians continued

"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Phi 3:12-16)


Growing up I only knew perfection. Now before you start to think I have lost my mind, I must explain what I interpreted perfection to be as a child. First, the examples were bountiful, or so I thought, of men and women that had their life together, that in so many ways I idolized. Second, that is what everyone was striving for and my little mind couldn't comprehend that someone would strive for something that they could never attain. Third, I was a child!

This all came crashing down one afternoon, I was 16 years old and my dad was in the hospital for trying to commit suicide. I knew he was unhappy, but lets face it... life is hard and we have bad days, months, and even years. However, I never thought my dad would just give up. Stop striving and pushing towards this demand for perfection.....

Now if you know my testimony, you know know that I "accepted" Jesus Christ when I was 14 at a youth retreat; although, that acceptances was a little skewed by my up bringing (whose isn't). All of these schemas that I had grasped onto to survive in the world still hung around. I had learned how to live the first 14 years of my life with this expectation of perfection and when I became a Christian I honestly didn't see the difference. I knew the story of Christ but those few inches from my head to my heart truly felt more like miles.

So, when my dad was walking out of the hospital that afternoon my world view was completely flipped upside down. I can remember talking with friends and asking them for advice as I trudged through the muddy waters of all the emotions; however, I can't remember one of them stopping to ask me why I was shocked that my dad wasn't perfect, that no one was, or could be. Or maybe if they did I wasn't ready to tackle that presupposition. Either way, I avoided this topic for the next 4 years. Although these 4 years were full of pain, confusion, and frustration I count them as gain towards the process God has me on for working out my salvation with fear and trembling.

At age 20, my life was a mess, yet to most it seemed perfect. I was the fun, spunky, energetic, and super "spiritual" youth sponsor; yet one summer afternoon I found myself standing on a cliff ready to jump. What was it that was driving me to think that life was not worth living if I couldn't get it 100% right? What was it that convinced me that the appearance of perfection was more important than the assurance of salvation from Jesus Christ's death on the cross? I read about it, talked about it, and even sang about it, but never truly believed it.

I didn't jump. I ran instead. No not off the cliff... although that would be fun with a parachute...

I would like to say that I ran to the arms of my Savior, but I didn't. I ran away. I decided to move to Colorado Springs, but by the grace of God that included joining YWAM. The first few weeks were horrible, not because YWAM was horrible but because I was being forced to deal with my own perfection or lack there of. It was impossible to run away from the truth of God's marvelous plan of salvation and grace when you lived with complete strangers, and were expected to share your whole life with them. Or when you share a tiny room and bathroom with 20 other women. Or when you travel around the world with 7 women and one guy for three months. You get to see it all and they get to see it all. All my lovely personality disorders on display 24/7.

So.... why am I writing all of this before I actually get to the scripture from Philippians.

Context!

This is where I am coming from and the things I had to go through before I finally recognized what Paul talks about in Philippians 3:3-7. "For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh.... but what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ."

It's the battle between living under the law and living, breathing, and rejoicing in the grace of Christ and the abundance of the Spirit. "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me."

As I continue to learn how to live in Christ's abundant grace, I pray that you will join me on this journey. That you would allow God to show you ways to grow mature in your thinking and that if in anything you think otherwise, God would reveal even this to you.

"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." (Galatians 2:16

"For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not the works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesiains 2:8-10)

"Not by works of righeousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us..." (Titus 3:5)

Brandy Kimes

Quotes

"Heroism is an extraordinary feat of the flesh; holiness is an ordinary act of the spirit. One may bring personal glory; the other always gives God glory." Chuck Colson

"If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere." Frank A. Clark

"Man has two great spiritual needs. One is forgiveness. The other is for goodness." Billy Graham