Human Interest

September 11, 2023 by Tricia Goyer 12 Comments

The Best Leaders Allow Themselves To Be Led

The Best Leaders Allow Themselves To Be Lead

I have ten kids ages from middle-schoolers to adults. Four are still at home, and they look to me daily. They are watching me, listening. I often hear my words coming out of their mouths. They follow in my footsteps, and I know my good habits and bad habits may someday be theirs. How do I know? Many times I hear my mom’s words coming out of my mouth. I find myself following in her footsteps in numerous ways. Remembering this reminds me how much I am a leader. The best leaders allow themselves to be lead.

The best leaders aren’t strict rulers, but rather part of a greater mission.

This wasn’t always the case for me. I was a single mom, and I prayed for a future husband . . . and a godly dad for my son. I met and married a wonderful Christian man, yet I had high expectations. I expected John to have the passion of King David, the practicality of Paul, and lead with the gentleness of Jesus. I expected him to see all of life as a chance to relate Biblical truths and moral lessons to our family. My poor husband!

John was a great provider, and he always spent time with me and the kids, yet when he didn’t step forward and lead our family spiritually as I thought he should. I tried to “help” him along. I grumbled, prodded, and offered—ahem—encouragement. Yet the more I pushed, the more John retreated. When I prayed about John’s “issue,” God turned my pointing finger back on me.

God told me I didn’t make a very good personal Holy Spirit for my husband.

I took the hint. I stepped back and kept my mouth shut, and something amazing happened—John stepped forward. One day he asked if we could read the Bible and pray together in the mornings. Of course I answered, “Yes!”

Being a parent is the most important life-role leadership job I’ll ever have—you’ll ever have. If you’re married and your spouse isn’t the spiritual leader you dream of, close your mouth and pray. Trust that God can guide your husband in a better way than you ever could! Also lead your children as well as you can with God as your guide.

Wanting to set a good example for your children is important, but the most important part is keeping your eyes on God and asking Him to lead your path, while also praying for your spouse. Jesus was a servant-leader, not a demanding guide. We’ll do well if we do the same. The best leaders find joy in being led, rather than trying to force their way.

If you liked this post, check out these others about family leadership:

Leadership In The Home

Letting Your Husband Lead

6 Ways to Effectively Lead Young Children

August 5, 2013 by Tricia Goyer Leave a Comment

6 Ways to Grow Trust in God

How do you grow trust in God? Here are 6 ways to help you.

1. To start in learning how to grow trust in God, Let go of your idea of how things should happen. God’s ways are not our ways. And how He chooses to show up will be different—greater—than we can expect. Most of the time we will not get what we want. Instead, we’ll get a greater revelation of who Jesus is.

2. Turn to God in prayer, even when you doubt (especially when you doubt). Talk to Jesus as simply as Martha did. There’s no need for fancy words. Tell him that you feel you got the wrong end of the stick, but then tell Him that you know that He’s going to make all the difference.

Turn to God in prayer, even when you doubt (especially when you doubt). @TriciaGoyer

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3. Ask others to tell you their God-stories or read Christian biographies. Everyone goes through tests or trials, yet God never forsakes those who love Him. Hearing how God has shown up in someone else’s life can give you hope.

4. Thank God for what He’s already done. Be grateful for all that you have. You might not have everything you want, but God has taken care of you in numerous ways.

5. Reach out to another person. Ask God to show you who needs encouragement. Giving of yourself to others will put everything into perspective. Also, when you allow God’s love to pour through you, you’ll also get filled up in the process!

6. Strive to see things through His eternal perspective to grow trust in God. This world is not our home. The problems of this earth are not our fate. Even if life never is easy, God is good. More than that, He’s preparing a place for you, where you will be with Him for eternity

Life will never turn out how you expect and aren’t you thankful? As you walk through dark days, you won’t be walking through it alone . . . and you’ll discover Jesus Christ in new ways!

Interested in some similar posts to this one? Check out these further posts to help you grow trust in God:

Do You Question if God Remembers You?

How to Trust God

How to Know God’s Will

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July 8, 2013 by Tricia Goyer 13 Comments

Podcast: Living Inspired: Good Morning Girls and Tracey Mitchell

To listen to the interview: go here and click on the player in the upper right corner of the screen. Thursday at 3:00 pm Central.

This week on Living Inspired I’m excited to be chatting with the Good Morning Girls, Angela Perritt and Courtney Joseph as well as Tracey Mitchell renowned speaker and author of new book Downside Up: Transform Rejection into Your Golden Opportunity (Thomas Nelson, 2013). Good Morning Girls’ goal is to inspire, encourage and equip women all over the world to get into God’s Word. A harsh reality of life is that it’s not always enjoyable. Everyone has experienced rejection in the form of harsh words, unreciprocated love, loss, or betrayal. Most people perceive rejection as a negative occurrence when, in reality, rejection can be one of the most powerful tools in life. “In my travels around the world, I have experienced the extraordinary pleasure of meeting men and women from almost every walk of life,” notes author and speaker Tracey Mitchell. “What continues to amaze me is not the cultural differences that divide us but rather the common thread of heartache uniting us. Pain does not discriminate, and it impacts the young, old, rich, poor, successful, attractive, and educated alike.” For 30 years Mitchell allowed rejection to consume her emotions until she had the “aha” moment when she realized that while rejection couldn’t be avoided, it could be worked to her advantage.

Sign up below for your chance to win a copy of Tracey’s book Downside Up. Check back here on Friday, July 12th to see who won!

**Due to shipping cost, giveaway open to US only**

More about Angela, Courtney, and The Good Morning Girls: Angela is the wife to her high school sweetheart and mom to her 3 adorable little girls. Some of Angela’s favorite things in life are dancing with her daughters, laughing with her husband and loving her Lord with the amazing life He has given her. You can find Angela at GoodMorningGirls.org where she blogs with her good friend Courtney. Together they encourage women to be in God’s Word on a daily basis through tech accountability groups. Angela’s goal in life is to inspire her children and others to love God greatly with their lives one day at a time. Courtney blogs at WomenLivingWell.org on the topics of faith, marriage, parenting, and homemaking. She has been married to her high school sweetheart for 14 years. She homeschools her son and daughter and is a graduate of the Moody Bible Institute. In November 2009, she was featured on the Rachael Ray show on the topic of marriage. Her passion to see women live well inspired her in 2010 to start a second blog called GoodMorningGirls.org. There women gather together to dig into their Bibles daily through tech accountability groups. She tweets as WomenLivingWell and can be followed on Facebook at Women Living Well. Good Morning Girls exists to inspire, encourage and equip women all over the world to get into God’s Word. Simple as that! Our prayer is that GMG will:… INSPIRE women to make God’s Word a priority in their daily lives.

… ENCOURAGE women in their daily walks with God through online accountability.

… EQUIP women to grow in their faith, so that they can effectively reach those in their own spheres of influence for Christ.

We believe God’s Word is powerful, effective and relevant in daily living. Because of that, we have a passion to make disciples… women who put God’s Word into action in their lives!

Learn more at http://www.goodmorninggirls.org

More about Tracey: As one of the nation’s leading conference speakers, Tracey Mitchell travels 40+ weeks a year sharing biblical principles and wisdom with diverse audiences throughout America. Tracey’s real life experiences – though painful and challenging have enabled her to identify with the hurting, lonely, and rejected. Whether speaking to men, women, corporate CEOs, or the homeless, Tracey’s love and passion for rewriting the lives of the brokenhearted make her messages relevant and empowering. Follow her on Twitter at @traceymitchell1.

More about Downside Up: A harsh reality of life is that it’s not always enjoyable. Everyone has experienced rejection. Whether in the form of hash words, unreciprocated love, loss or betrayal. Most people perceive rejection as a negative occurrence, when, in reality, rejection can be one of the most powerful tools in life.

Downside Up contains step-by-step guides, resources, and inter-active pages necessary to restore lost identity and transform dreams into reality. Downside Up offers wisdom, guidance, and personal application while also outlining and establishing key biblical principles that promote emotional and mental wellness. Readers will:

Understand the importance of developing a positive and God-designed self-portrait
Identify their life’s purpose and maximize their potential for success
Discover the value of godly mentors and other positive relationships
Overcome negative thoughts, fear, and lack of self-confidence

Rejection is not about experiencing loss. It is an asset for fulfilling your dreams.

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