Sarah Bowling

leadership

sarahbowling — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:37:19 +0000

I’ve been thinking about leadership lately and while I know there are BOATLOADS of great resources, books, conferences, etc to help us with becoming better leaders, here are just a few brief, but helpful thoughts:

if you want a particular leadership position, act as a leader for that role before you ever get the title
leadership requires us to be continually growing and changing lest we become a stiffling lid
character is more substantial than any title
effective leadership requires constructive communicating: both listening & talking
the Jesus’ paradigm of leadership is service over superiority
if no one is following you, you’re merely taking a walk so enjoy the stroll ,)
fear is leadership poison
good leaders foster teamwork over competition
leaders look for ways to bring out the best in their team & to minimize the weaknesses
mistakes and failures for leaders aren’t permanent

Just a few quick thoughts on this happy Wed

mumbo jumbo

sarahbowling — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:39:32 +0000

I went to China for the last few days & returned home yesterday, so I’m finding that my thinking is kind of jumbled up & random, say nothing about my sleep. With that excuse, here are a few thoughts:

being kind & patient with others tends to also be a generous gift to ourselves
genuine love is like a reverse prism – it takes the fragments of life & helps us to see the beauties of daily living
long-term investments often have the most fulfilling rewards
Saving Moses is doing some very magnificent work!
I’m thankful that God doesn’t give me everything I want
relationships can help us to see and experience different facets of God
take a walk outside

I promise that tomorrow I’ll write something more cohesive

People are important

sarahbowling — Sun, 19 May 2013 11:14:44 +0000

I’m just finishing my weekend in Shanghai & I’m always astounded by several things when I get to visit China (possibly one of my favorite nations in the world):
*the number of people in this nation is 100% boggling. As we were driving today, I was trying to figure out how to show you 23million people in one city – Shanghai (picture of a “few” apt buildings in this monstrosity of a city)
*God’s immense love for people – there’s not one person in the 23million who live in Shanghai that is irrelevant to God; the quantity of people doesn’t compromise quality of God’s love
*God’s hand is engaged throughout all things massive & micro
*these reflections help to encourage trust in my heart that God is totally involved throughout my life & is altogether trustworthy – for both of us

Loving me some China!

sarahbowling — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:12:52 +0000

I started coming to China more than 25 years ago & I totally love this place & the people even more! China is wonderful in lots of different ways – rich history, very cool people, great food, diverse cultures & much more.
But let me encourage you that wherever you are at, God is present & eager to have fellowship with you. I believe with all of my heart that God made you for the purpose of enjoying your company in all places: whether you’re
*at home in the routines of daily living,
*in a really difficult season of life,
*swamped with an ocean of demands & responsibilities,
*going into a busy weekend
*enjoying China ,)

God loves your company!

Grumpy people

sarahbowling — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:20:37 +0000

From time to time, we all get to hang out with or be around grumpy people, no matter how well refined our avoidance skills are. So here are some brief thoughts for your consideration:
*check yourself first – is the person being grumpy because of your actions, words or attitude?
*be gracious – Proverbs says that a soft answer turns away wrath
*be soft & gentle, looking for words that repair rather than escalate
*generous forgiveness is always a handy resource
*be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle – Plato
*confront dysfunctional behavior with constructive timing & opportunity
*seek to reconcile more than dominate

selective hearing

sarahbowling — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:26:04 +0000

When I was growing up, I had a 2nd family with whom I was really close & I noticed after some time, that the husband / dad had some hearing difficulties. When I started to watch him more closely, I noticed that he could overhear “quiet” conversations in the next room, but would be oblivious to some conversations within his immediate hearing. I thought this was really strange until someone pointed out that he had a hearing condition called “wife deafness.” I had never heard of this condition & they explained to me that sometimes husbands or wives develop this impairment after several years of marriage – I got it, it was a joke, kind of ,)

While it was kind of funny to learn some of the quirky dynamics of my 2nd family, there’s some really good application that I use with this observation on a regular basis: there are some voices & conversations that don’t need my attention nor do they help me to grow closer to God. So some selective hearing is a good thing – like Jesus said in John 10, “My sheep know my voice & the voice of a stranger they won’t follow.”

holding pattern

sarahbowling — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:49:43 +0000

Have you ever felt like you’re in a holding pattern? Sometimes, it seems like God has me in pause mode & I’m continuing to try & faithfully do what’s been given to me, but it’s like I’m on hold. When I’ve been on airplanes that have been in holding patterns it’s usually for a few reasons:

bad weather could make the landing dangerous – preventing danger
our timing for landing was off schedule & we have to wait for our turn – timing alignment
the land crew isn’t quite ready for our arrival – proper preparation to prevent a mishap

If you’re in a holding pattern season, getting impatient usually doesn’t help but using the time to nestle into a deeper walk with God is always a great plan regardless of whatever season in which you find yourself

be encouraged :)

sarahbowling — Mon, 13 May 2013 18:21:24 +0000

You & I have various challenges that are happening in our lives & sometimes the challenges are big & many but other times the challenges are small & few. Nevertheless, we all have challenges.

Here are some benefits of the various challenges that we have:

challenges can force us to look outside of ourselves to get help and for resolving
challenges can help us to get stronger
challenges can foster teamwork & creative solutions that can be amazing!
for me, challenges often force me to trust God more and trust myself less, which ultimately helps me to be closer to God
challenges often help me to get more focused & less distracted
challenges make me pray more

A cheap but meaningful gift

sarahbowling — Fri, 10 May 2013 19:26:12 +0000

With Mothers Day coming up this weekend, it frequently reminds of me about being generous & giving meaningful gifts. However, not all of us have access to resources to get some WAY cool gifts. So here’s a really wonderful gift that is extremely meaningful but not pricey: listening
Listening is a great gift because its wholesome, it gives respect & honor, it also means that you are present with then other person & that’s an awesome gift! So lets be generous & listen

one thing

sarahbowling — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:16:00 +0000

We probably have fairly similar lives with lots of demands & responsibilities – maybe yours are different than mine, but we usually have lots of things to juggle (kids’ schedules, saving Moses, workload concerns, personal goals, family dynamics, church things, . . . .). You probably have a similar list & I’ve often had people ask me for ideas on how to balance everything. If I’m honest, there are times when I don’t balance everything well & some things get short changed, which I hate.

But lately, I’ve found it really helpful to nestle into “one thing” – the essential & continuous priority that permeates everything (sleeping, eating, cooking, errands, conversations, work, blogging, thinking, planning, . . . . . ). My “one thing” is to know Jesus and I want everything that I do to be infused with this “one thing” – Luke 10:42. ”One thing” doesn’t mean that I drop everything, but it means that as I go throughout each day with its diverse demands and responsibilities, my “one thing” continues and remains