Need I say more?

But I will…

Jes and I are having a blast getting away for a few days.

So far we’ve:

• Sat on the beach
• Read on the beach
• Shopped
• Eaten
• Sat on the beach
• Read on the beach
• Walked on the beach
• Shopped
• Eaten

Today we’ll:

• Run/walk on the beach
• Eat
• Lay on the beach
• Lay on our rafts on the water
• Read on the beach
• Eat
• Shop
• Eat again

Totally predictable & fabulous!

What are you doing this weekend?

According to the L.A. Times, Eclipse opened with first week sales of $175.3 million making it the most successful first week sales for any movie so far this year.

And yes, I too am a sucker for the Twilight Saga.

I have been challenged on many occasions by my more rational friends (usually of the male gender I might add) to explain my fascination with vampires, werewolves and far-fetched story lines…

So here’s what I’ve got for you…

Everyone needs an Edward.

(And guys, before you choose to check out, hang in here.  I think I have a nugget for you too.)

Everyone needs an Edward because…

Everyone needs a fierce defender. Someone who loves you that ridiculously and protects you with the fiercest love and devotion.

Everyone needs someone who understands our fragility. Someone who understands how fragile you are and cares for you with the ultimate gentleness.

Everyone needs someone who believes in them.  Someone who believes in the good you are and are yet to become.

Everyone needs someone who watches out for our heart. Someone who cares for and protects your soul.

One of my favorite John Maxwell leadership laws is The Law of the Inner Circle.  John explains the importance of having a team of people around us who play different roles in our life: Intercessor, Listener, Encourager, Creator, Discerner, Giver, Defender, Implementer, Celebrator, Resourcer, Sponsor, Thinker, Networker, Mentor & Protege.  (I’ve talked about this before here.)

We long for teammates who complete us, who complement our gifts and champion us to be our best.

So maybe, just maybe that’s what all we raving Twilight fans are connecting with.

Maybe

Go Team Edward!

It’s snuck up on me a little bit, but I’m seriously glad for a long weekend to relax and spend time with friends.

Here’s what’s on my mind today:

• Finally got to see Eclipse last night and I LOVED IT!  The directing, special effects and acting get a bit better with every movie, but honestly it really is a cheesy story in movie form (I can’t believe I just admitted that out loud – don’t tell Merlyn!).  If you haven’t read the books, you are missing layers of story that finish it out and make it seem less ridiculous.
• I’m keeping Lindsey‘s dog Molly for the weekend and she’s become my new best friend.  Follows me everywhere I go and does leaping circles every time I come home… makes me feel kind of loved
• I have a couple of writing projects I need to work on this weekend.  Need to break-away for some inspiration.
• We’ve confirmed our guest speaker for the July Cultivate Her event – will announce this on the Cultivate Her blog by Monday.  Very excited!
• Wimbledon is absolutely crazy this year.  Can’t believe Federer & Venus are out.  Anxious to see how it finishes!
• Hoping to tackle of chunk of John Ortberg’s The Me I Want to Be: Becoming God’s Best Version of You I’m loving this book!
• Tomatoes and green peppers are flowing from my little patio garden.  Divine!

Hope you have a wonderful and safe 4th of July weekend!

Anything exciting planned?

Here’s some of the randomness on my mind and in my life right now.

• Have a great day planned with friends today.  Much needed time with people who speak truth and celebrate big.
• Excited that tomorrow is Serving Saturday at all of our campuses.  We’ll be continuing flood relief efforts.  Come out and join us!  We’re meeting at 8am at all of the campuses.
• I’m thoroughly enjoying some of the this summer’s Top 40 music.  Music always marks the seasons for me.  I’m lovin’ “Nothin’ On You” by B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars
• Thrilled that I could get the new iPhone4.  I know some of you are tired of hearing about it, but sometimes you gotta just enjoy the silly things in life.
• Started reading John Ortberg’s The Me I Want to Be.  This one is gonna be good for me.
• Had a great day at Cultivate Her Wednesday morning.  Really excited about some of the ideas and direction this ministry is taking.  Big news coming soon about the plans and opportunities for Cultivate Her!
• So excited that it’s Wimbledon time and can’t believe the Isner-Mahut match.  Isner wins with a 70-68 game set.  CRAZY!  Here’s the interview of the players after the match.  I can’t imagine how tired they were after playing the same match for three straight days.  That’s determination!

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

I miss those days a lot. So, on a whim I decided to do a little patio gardening this year.

I have two tomato plants and one red bell pepper plant.  Small scale compared to Nan’s summer productions, but I’m nonetheless excited about what I’m growing.

I watch my little pet projection like a hawk.  I water them daily.  I watch for any sign of insects or disease.  I monitor growth and salivate over the idea that very soon I’ll have something ripe and ready to eat.

I find myself starting to believe that I am solely responsible for the growth and health of my little plants.

Funny thing is, I do this with much of the tasks and activities that I take on in life.  What started out as a simple chance to invest in the development of something, quickly becomes an issue of entitlement and personal achievement.

“I planted the see, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.  The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.  For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.“  I Corinthians 3:6-9

Leaders are usually achievers.  They activate.  They direct.  They see projects through to completion.  They’re the prominent voice guiding a team through a project.

We thrive on accomplishment and acknowledgment.

And if we’re honest, we have a tendency to take the credit for what God has allowed us to simply be a part of.

From the passage above, most leaders play the role of seed planter, and we rally and lead teams that water that seed; but eventually the natural temptation is to take credit for the growth.  We invest so much of our self in the planting and watering process… we feel so much ownership, that the natural drift is to take credit for the results.

I know.  I’ve been there time and time again.

“So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”

I don’t do the growing.   Only God makes things grow.  Period.

So rather than priding myself in the growth, am I taking seriously my responsibility to seed and water what God has entrusted to me?  Am I being faithfully with the part of the process that He has asked me to do or am I focused on the growth and the results?  Am I more concerned with the beautiful fruit that I can show off or am I diligently caring for the seedlings?

How about you?

I started strong.  I was ready to run.  I had a goal to beat my best time.  I was nervous, excited and goal-minded.

But about half way through the race I hit a wall and couldn’t recover.  I may have started too strong.  It could be because I hadn’t gotten good rest that week.  It may have just been a bad day… but, for whatever reason I wasn’t going to make my goal.

I wasn’t going to “win”.

My definition of winning for that day was meeting the goal I had set for myself.  But I didn’t make that goal… didn’t even come close.

I finished but I didn’t “win” and I felt pretty defeated because of it.

I think this happens a lot in life.

As I was reflecting on a few projects that I’m in the middle of, I wondered why some of them don’t feel like “wins” to me.  I should feel a huge sense of accomplishment when some of these things get done, but what I’ve discovered is that if they took longer than I expected or turned out differently than I planned, I just feel like I’ve finished rather than I’ve won.

There’s a big difference for me between winning and finishing.

When I “win” I feel:

• accomplished
• strong
• competent
• successful
• ready to do more

When I just “finish” I feel:

• tired
• unmotivated
• emotionally spent
• hoping I never have to do that again

Winning vs. finishing is all about perspective.  It’s perspective on how and why I’m doing whatever I’m doing.  If I’m operating in my own strength with little reliance on God, I tend to find myself just “finishing” more often.  But when I recognize I can’t do it on my own… that I need God’s strength for the task ahead… when I trust in His guidance and His power, “wins” are a lot more common.

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

Do you find yourself “winning” or just “finishing” most days?  Are you trusting in God’s strength or your own?

I’ve run this route through my neighborhood several times a week for over five years.  I thought I knew it backwards and forwards, until today…

Today I walked and I made a point of looking up.

Most days when I run this route, I have my head down.  I’m focused on the pavement in front of me.  My sights are set on finishing, not on taking in everything around me.

Today I saw birds soaring through the air.

Today I saw the beautiful buds of the trees in various shades of green on the hillsides all around me.

Today I saw people I’ve never seen before and I paused to engage in conversation with neighbors I usually fly jog past.

Today I smelled the amazing scent of the lilacs in bloom (one of my all-time favorite flowers).

Today I heard the birds chirping and singing.

Today my usual corner of the world was completely fresh and new.

But isn’t that how we handle much of life? We find our heads down.  We’re buried in the details of the task ahead of us.  We’re focused on the finish and we’re missing so much in between.

Sometimes you just have to look up.

It turns out I know the pavement backwards and forwards, but there was a whole new dimension of life I was missing.

What are you buried in?  What would happen if you looked up?

• 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?

Today I officially started training for this year’s Country Music 1/2 Marathon.  This will be my third year running the race.

Honestly my enthusiasm about doing it again was waning a bit when it came time to start thinking about training again.

The first year was an awesome experience.  I had never run more than 5 miles before I began training.  Rach, Shelby, Ash and I met weekly for training runs and we all had big smiles on our faces when we finished.

Last year I was really excited to tackle it again. But this time I was ready to document the experience, so I carried my little Kodak camera for 10 miles of the race.  I had high aspirations to beat my time from the previous year, but alas the heat was miserable, I burned all my energy filming and finished less enthusiastically.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EbOomjeW1w[/youtube]

But this year I’m excited to change it up a bit.  The first two years were really about accomplishing personal goals and experiencing it with great friends.  This year (along with many Cross Point folks) I’ve teamed up with Powered by Hope to put a cause behind my steps.

Powered by Hope is a team on a mission to turn racial division, class segregation, and spiritual poverty into community, possibility, and vision. It all begins with a new Hope – our support of New Hope Academy.
New Hope Academy

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?