I’m a closet dreamer.

If you meet me you’ll encounter a very practical, problem solving, get-it-done, A-type, responsible individual.  But underneath that composed exterior are some dreams that have been brewing for years.  Dreams that excite me and yet scare me to death.  Dreams that if I shared with someone over a cup of tea I’m afraid they would laugh out loud with tea spraying from nose, mouth, ears and eyes or even worse, give me that blank stare complete with a placating “oh, that’s a nice idea honey.”

You know the kind of fear I’m talking about.

Continue reading at the Cultivate Her blog…

Just some random stuff on my mind tonight…

• I’m really honored to have a featured interview at my friend Laura Anne’s blog.  You should go check out the other people she’s interviewed too – pretty cool stories!
• I hate peeling oranges, but I’m strongly opposed to cutting them therefore I have orange gunk under my nails right now.
• I keep thinking that I need to get my “to do” list done before I sit down to do some reading.  I can’t seem to get that “to do” list done with time to relax with a book.  Need to reprogram my head on this one.  I’ve got too many good books to read.
• Looking forward to seeing how our Cross Point peeps show up with items for Haiti tomorrow!
• Praying that our Visa issues get worked out for our trip to India.
• Wishing the laundry automatically folded itself…
• Excited that sweet Audrey entered the world this week.  She’s beautiful!
• I’ve spent several hours today working on my talk and materials for Cultivate Her which is this Friday.  Have you RSVP’d yet?
• Wishing that I was in Australia watching the Australian open!
• I committed to running with the 10 minute mile pace group for the 1/2 marathon training.  This should stretch me!  I would love your support for the race!

What’s your randomness this weekend?

I’m so excited to announce our January event for Cultivate Her!

Friday, January 29th

7:00 – 8:30 AM

Cross Point Church in Nashville

We’ll be kicking off 2010 with the topic “Dream Anatomy - creating a life plan that cultivates your dreams.”

Too often our dreams never see the light of day.

Life overwhelms us.  Responsibilities wear us down.  Criticism discourages us.

How can we live the life of our dreams?

I hope you’ll make plans to join us!

Please RSVP through Evite by clicking HERE

ALSO!

Go check out our new Cultivate Her blog.  Each week the team will be posting leadership thoughts and insights.

We’d love for you to join the discussion!

I can hardly believe that we’re only one week into the New Year!  This has been such a full week.  We’re back at it in full force!

Here are some things I’m excited about:

• The 31 Day Challenge - I love that so many of us are reading through Proverbs together.  I love hearing your thoughts and observing your insights.  They add an entirely new layer to my comprehension of the scripture.  Stick with us!

• The launch of Pursuit at all of our campuses this Sunday.  This series is going to be powerful!

• The launch of FX Live for our families.  This is the first time we’ll have a family targeted event at ALL of our campuses.  Make plans to be there… it’s gonna be good!

• Pete, Ryan and I leave for India in just over 3 weeks – yikes!  I’m afraid this trip is really going to rattle me.

• Our next Cultivate Her event is Friday, January 29th at 7AM.  I’m really excited about this year and some of the things we have planned for helping encourage, support and equip women leaders.  Mark your calendars – I know it’s 7AM, but I promise it’s worth it!

What are you excited about?  What are you looking forward to this week, this month, this year?

As part of my 2009 year-in-review & personal evaluation, I took some time to consider what I’ll be focusing on this year here at JenniCatron.tv.  It’s easy to wander, get distracted, ramble and simply say very little if I’m not careful.  So after some prayer, processing and reflection these are the five goals for my blog this year:

1. To share my thoughts, insights and observations about leadership. There is no question that I’m a leadership geek.  I find a leadership nugget in just about every situation, circumstance or person I encounter.  My blog is named “Leading in Shades of Grey” because if there is one thing I’ve learned about leadership, it’s that rarely is anything EVER black and white.  Being a great leader requires the discernment and skills to navigate the most grey of situations.  I hope my musings on the subject are helpful to you.
2. To communicate events, highlights and successes of the organizations I’m a part of – Cross Point Church & Cultivate Her.
3. To connect and encourage other leaders. I relate all to well to the sentiment “leadership is lonely” and so I hope my blog can be a place where you can connect with other leaders facing similar challenges and be encouraged that you really are not alone.
4. To share what I’m learning. Whether it be book reviews, conferences I’ve attended, scripture that’s challenging me or mistakes I’ve made, I’ll be sharing my thoughts along the way.
5. To share my life. This will be mostly reserved for my Friday Fun posts where I talk about the general stuff of my life – 1/2 marathon training, Catron House Wars, random rants about stuff that irritates me, etc.  There’s no real point here except hopefully to make you smile a little.

So that’s my blog plan for 2010.

Is there anything else you would like to see from JenniCatron.tv this year?

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I’ve been reflecting a lot on what it means to be a generous leader.

I admire leaders who seem to give themselves away repeatedly in spite of very busy lives.  I marvel at how they do it all.  As much as it frustrates me, I’m a default to ‘task‘ type of person.  I wish I was wired for ‘people’ first.  I really do, but I’m naturally wired to focus on getting things done.

As much as this is the reality of how I’m wired, I refuse to allow it to be an excuse. I believe that I still have a responsibility to be aware of this tendency and then to work towards balancing my life towards investing in others more strategically.

Last week at Cultivate Her, being a generous leader was our topic for the day.  We invited a panel of generous leaders to speak to us sharing their thoughts on how they have invested in others this way.  Here are some of my favorite comments from the time they shared with us:

Margaret Becker

• avoid a scarcity mentality; we are descendants of Christ the King (royalty) and once we grasp this we realize there is plenty to go around; give abundantly without fear of not having enough
• to be effective you have to be fluid; be a conduit rather than a dispenser
• leadership requires humility – to be broken in public
• always choose people over the system

Randy Elrod

• know yourself
• every time we mentor we deplete our emotional gauge; we have to be aware of where that emotional gauge is and find ways to refill it
• the hardest thing you’ll have to do is say “no”

I wish that I had captured more of their thoughts.  I couldn’t write fast enough!

Are you ‘task’ first or ‘people’ first?

How are you leading generously?

Who has generously invested in you?

THIS Friday, November 20th is our next Cultivate Her event and I’m excited to announce our special guests for this month!

We’ll be talking about what it means to be a “generous leader”.  How can we give back, invest & encourage the people we lead?

We’re fortunate to have some amazing folks joining us to talk about this topic.

Singer/songwriter Margaret Becker – Margaret is a gem!  Her encouragement of others is contagious… and we might just get her to sing us a song.

Randy Elrod – artist, writer, mentor, teacher, musician & founder of recreate arts thinktank.  I’m fascinated by how Randy pours his life into others… you’ll be inspired.

Kat Davis – author of The Daily Verse.  A dear friend, former co-worker and one of the greatest champions in my life.  You’ll understand why I love her so much!

If you haven’t already RSVP’d, it’s not to late!  Just RSVP in the comments section.  I hope to see you there!

Cultivate Her is a leadership environment where women are inspired, challenged and encouraged in their leadership growth.  No matter what your leadership influence looks like, your gifts will be cultivated to encourage you to embrace our motto “wherever you lead, lead well!”

Cultivate Her monthly events include breakfast, time to connect with other women leaders, and challenging and inspiring teaching/discussion on leadership issues.

Our Next Event:

Friday, November 20th

7:00-8:30 AM

Location: The Café at Cross Point, Nashville, TN

RSVP HERE! (or just RSVP in the comments)

One of my favorite things to do is to sit down with another woman over a cup of tea to learn more about her life, her story, her journey, her dreams.  I’m always honored when someone just a bit younger asks to talk with me.  It’s a treasure to share how God has worked in my life, what I’ve learned so far, and what I would do differently if given the chance.  I love the idea of pouring just a bit of wisdom into someone else’ life.  And it’s an absolute gift when someone a few steps ahead of me will take the time to impart some wisdom to me.

I keep a running list of women I’d like to meet with.  My list goes forward to the women a few steps (sometimes a lot of steps) ahead of me.  These are the women who I believe can pull me along, kick me in the pants if needed, and stretch me to the next level.  And my list looks around me to the women who are just a few steps behind me either in experiences or age.  These are the women I feel responsible to encourage, challenge and stretch to achieve their dreams.  I’m convinced that the power of a gracious leader is immeasurable.  And too many times we as leaders are so busy seeking our own growth and gain that we’re missing the opportunities to invest in those around us.

This month at Cultivate Her we’ll be talking about the power of the gracious leader.  We’ll hear from several leaders who lead graciously by investing and empowering others around them on a consistent basis.  And we’ll be challenging you to identify one woman who you can invest in.

If you could have a cup of tea with any woman throughout history, past or present, who would it be?

My list?

Queen Elizabeth I

Eleanor Roosevelt

Mother Theresa

Condoleeza Rice