Are you flourishing? I’ve been pondering that question the last few days after reading a quote in my Encounter With God devotional (published by Scripture Union). I encourage you to also take some time to ponder it.

“Flourishing is God’s gift and plan. When you flourish you are in harmony with God, other people, creation and yourself. Flourishing is becoming the person He had in mind in creating you.”
— John Ortberg.

Are you becoming the person God had in mind for you to be when He created you? You are not an accident or a mistake. He purposefully created you. And through your creation–in conjunction with your life experiences– He has been preparing you for what He has prepared for you to do.

One of my favorite things to do is to help people discover who they are and then move forward in their path toward flourishing “in harmony with God, other people, creation and yourself.”

Leading From Your Strengths assessments and consultations = one way God has used to accomplish that.

The Loaves and Fishes Coaching website will answer some of your questions. Then contact me for a FREE inquiry call. When you are ready, you’ll be amazed what freedom you will have from discovering how to answer “Yes!” to the question, “Are you flourishing?”

Also, you might want to go to LinkedIn to read some of the comments from people that know me.

Until then…

When you are ready…

How is being “wise and safe” in your job choice affecting you?

I had a job that simply was not a right fit for me. It taxed my very soul, and sucked the life out of me. Yet, I fooled myself into thinking it was “wise and safe” to stay there (e.g. regular salary & good benefits), even though people were often fired because of new management or reorganization or…whatever. In other words, it was not necessarily really “wise and safe”. It was not as secure as I pretended to myself.

Hours were added or dropped or schedules changed so frequently that it was a good idea to only “pencil in” your latest schedule in your calendar, so it could easily be erased. We had to punch in and punch out…docked if a few minutes late, but not paid for a few minutes overtime.

Don’t get me wrong. I was very grateful for a job, and I got along fine with my bosses, but it was not a good fit for me. It truly, literally sucked the life out of me. And I was often ill from the stress and lack of sleep because of the scheduling. Often working ’til 9 p.m. one night and having to be back and “punched in” and ready to work at 7 a.m. the next day. We never knew when the schedule would include weekends. That was ever changing as well. I was careful to work hard and to follow the rules, so I didn’t get fired, but I couldn’t SHINE there. Ever been there? Ever experienced any of those things yourself?

Why are we afraid to make the leap? To change? To do what we were created for? To do what we have dreamed of doing? Many times the people around us encourage us to be “wise and safe”, so we just stay put…miserable and weary. Sometimes we even give up and stop dreaming altogether.

Maybe there is another way. There was for me. There can be for you, too. Ever wanted to start your own business? Start up your own blog? But not knowing where to start, or maybe you have already started something you’ve always dreamed of doing, but you are lacking the support system to encourage you to keep going?

My coach helped me to prepare myself and to plan wisely…walking alongside me to help me keep my focus on my goal and not lose site of my dream.

Now…I am living my dream…in my own business, doing for others what my coach did for me.

Add to that, the Leading From Your Strengths profile consultation that helped me to be more settled in my spirit about my God-given Strengths, which made me even more confident that I am now right where I am supposed to be, doing exactly what I was created to do. Being now in that confidence is a very restful/peaceful place to be. You, too, can realize that in your life. But it takes the courage of taking that first step. In this case it is the inquiry call for more information.

So, are you ready? Just slide over to the left side of this page and look for “Topics”…and read some of the articles about coaching…and read more about the Leading From Your Strengths (LFYS) assessment process.

John Trent (co-creator with Rodney Cox) was recently on Focus on the Family, discussing Ministry Insights Leading From Your Strengths assessments. Prison Fellowship also uses the assessments.

Maybe it is time to realize being “wise and safe” is not necessarily wise and safe, but rather being stuck outside the realm of God’s best for you. Job security? Or are you in chains? Why not jump on board to discover what God had in mind when He created you, so you can move forward more confidently into all you were meant to be.

Scroll back up to the top of the page for more information and to get more of your questions answered. Contact me for the FREE inquiry call. Simply fill in the email contact form available by clicking on any of the pages of Loaves and Fishes Coaching website.

I was just thinking that I haven’t reminded you lately on the blog that I am a Christian Life Coach, with a God-given passion to help others discover their God-given strengths and invest them fully for His glory. I have a dream..and it involves you!

Have you had a dream but not yet acted on it? What’s holding you back? Maybe you have always wanted to start your own business… or start your own blog? Maybe you long to change something in your life, but nothing you’ve tried so far has worked. Maybe you wonder why you do the things you do in the way you do them…or wonder what makes you “tick”/why you actually see things so differently than those that you live with, work with, worship & serve with?

A Christian Life Coach helps you hear more clearly what your heart is longing for you to understand and move forward on. A coach wants to walk with you through the journey of discovery and implementation.

And…a Christian Life Coach trained in Leading From Your Strengths assessment consultations, is a good place to start in your journey toward a more satisfying life. The assessment only takes about 10-15 minutes to complete, but the wealth of information obtained from the results of the profile is invaluable for anyone wanting to be all God intended. Then we set up a time for consultation. That takes it from merely information (head knowledge) to life change awareness (heart knowledge). It is an amazing resource to help you not only understand yourself more fully, but to understand others’ personalities as well. I have a dream…that you will experience the great value it will add to your life in better communication and more meaningful relationships. A freedom comes in the acceptance of God’s will in His choice for personality selection.

Everyone needs a “cheerleader” as you take the ball and run toward that goal line. We’ll look for mindsets that need a fresh look. Mindsets that could be keeping you from moving into your destiny…your God-given strengths, gifts, and talents. And…I have a dream that you will realize that God’s “design” for you was meant to bring you joy as you function fully in the personality and gifting that your Creator God personally chose for you. Because He loves you and He knows best!

So, let’s get started.

We’ve been on a journey together these last weeks, discussing Who Am I? Who Are You? Why Do We Do the Things We Do? We have finally arrived at the destination of discussing a resource that has been personally life changing. This resource has been instrumental as one more step to take me from where I am to where I want to be.  It is one more step to bridge the gap between the two. That’s why I want to tell you about it! It works well with the coaching model of helping people to reach their goals. And, for the Christian, this resource is a breath of fresh air because it uses Biblical principles to help each of us to discover our unique God-given design, so we can be the best “me” we were meant to be.

This resource is not a talent assessment, nor a spiritual gifts assessment, nor an assessment to help you discover your passion. We use other resources to help in those areas. This resource is to help you discover your Natural Strengths (what you are naturally) as well as your Adapted Strengths (what you present to your world). The Leading From Your Strengths assessment only requires a few minutes to take it online. And yet, from your responses, we discover wonderful things about your personality. It is helpful for understanding how you interact with others and why they may perceive you differently than you perceive yourself. It is valuable in helping you to accept who God made you to be so you more effectively move forward in your strengths.  But…the BEST part about this assessment is that it also helps you accept how God designed other people in your world. It is a tool you can use in order to learn how to work together more effectively with your world…and with less stress.

What a gift Rodney Cox and John Trent gave the world when they collaborated on the development of these assessments! Amazing! Freeing! Encouraging! Body(of Christ)-building. Team building. Marriage building. Family building. It is not “my” strength. It is not “your” strength. It is “His” strength…given for the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit of God empowers us to work within our strengths, in order for His light to shine through us, so that above all things, He will be glorified. But, we have to KNOW those strengths. And we have to embrace them. And we have to embrace the strengths of others.

In their book, Leading From Your Strengths, Building Close-Knit Ministry Teams, John Trent & Rodney Cox say: “In I Corinthians 12:18 the apostle Paul concludes his discussion of how God’s people are like members of a body by stating, ‘But now God has placed the parts, each one of them, in the body just as He wanted.’ We believe that is also absolutely true today. The group of people you are working with isn’t the result of a random coincidence. Those people you’re working with are part of God’s story for your life. That is an amazing thing to think about in itself. It ‘s also why investing time in building a healthy, functional, effective, empowering team is essential, not optional.”

These four blog posts have attempted to guide you to find the answers for: Who Am I? Who Are You? Why Do We Do the Things We Do? To know your strengths is not boasting. The more we step into our God-given strengths, the more we will realize that He has given us what we need to do what He designed for us. Do you think you don’t have what it takes money-wise or time-wise? When Moses questioned his God-given strengths in Exodus 3 and 4, God replied, “What is that in your hand?” Discover what God has placed in YOUR hand. (Your strengths.) Take the assessment for yourself.  For more information, go to: https://loavesandfishescoaching.com/contact.php

For less than the cost of an oil-change and fill-up of gas, or the cost of dinner for two at a nice restaurant, you could have a whole new perspective on life and purpose.

What is that worth to you to be more fully you? (Your God-intended you.)

Do you think you don’t have the time? By simply skipping one of your favorite TV shows, you could free-up time to take the Leading From Your Strengths assessment and debrief consultation with an experienced life coach. It could be a new beginning for you….like it has been for so many others. What is that worth to you? For only $149, this could be the start of something new and fresh in your life.

What are you waiting for? Let’s get started!  https://loavesandfishescoaching.com/contact.php

Be sure to read Part I and Part II of this series. We learned that conflict comes when we don’t accept that we are all different by design, but rather we fight it and have difficulty understanding why others don’t view the world through the same “glasses” we do. So, who am I? Who are you? And why do we do the things we do?

It is easy to think that other people are “vision” impaired when they differ in the way they solve problems, process information, manage change, or face risks. This plays itself out in our closest relationship teams, whether in family, at work, or in the church. Is there any hope for something better? Yes, I believe there is. We don’t have to settle for mediocrity! Will it take work? Yes, it will. Will it take time? Yes. And patience as well. According to Ministry Insights, there are 384 distinctive personality styles. The Leading From Your Strengths Personality Assessment is a tool to help us first understand our God-given design, leading us to then accept the God-given design of others. This gives us the freedom to encourage others to embrace their own God-given design. Their strengths, in other words.

Since most of our life is spent working in a team of some sort, God has given us our strengths for the benefit of the “team”. We are needed. We are a necessary part of the team. Created by Him and for His purposes. Different, yes. With a natural set of strengths that He personally handpicked for us. We are called to love the Lord with all our heart & soul, mind & strength. If we don’t even know and accept our strengths and the strengths of those around us, how can we love Him fully? On the other hand, by accepting, loving, embracing, and using our strengths for the good of others, we delight the Lord God Almighty…the Creator. This is good, acceptable, and pleasing to our Heavenly Father.

Christ is in us—directing us to live a life worthy of our calling and giving us the power to do that. Each of us has a solution for a certain need in the world. He chose our personality and prepared works for us to do.

It is not “my” strength to do with as I please, but “His” strength…given for the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit of God empowers us to work within our strengths, so that His light will shine through us. Therefore, above all things, He will be glorified. So, the answer to: Who am I? Who are you? Why do we do the things we do? = We were created to bring glory to the Lord God Almighty. So…we have to know those strengths and actually embrace them as strengths. As a gift. Many of us “fight” who we are and wish we were different. Embracing our strengths pleases the Father God.

God created us to work in community, whether at work, at church, in our hometown, or in the family. We also need to know and embrace our differences. It is all about working well together as a team. It’s not about “me”, but it is about “us”. How can we bring out the best in each other? Our specialized differences make the Body (the Team) work the way it was meant to. The differences are then seen as a good thing.

Wouldn’t you like to know more about how to embrace this fresh approach to our God-given design? Ministry Insights, Leading From Your Strengths assessment is one of the best tools I have experienced personally. It has changed my view of myself and my view of others. I am free-er! Want to know more? Stay tuned for Part IV of this series. You will learn how to make this a reality in your own life and in the life of the teams where you live out your life story.

This has been Part III of four parts to discovering: “Who Am I? Who Are You? Why Do We Do the Things We Do?” Watch for Part IV coming soon! J

Do you remember from Part I that conflict comes because we don’t accept that we are all different by design, but rather we fight it and try to make others into our clones? Do you remember that my friend chose the higher ground and realized what I needed in order to move forward? She “brought out the best” of my God-given design. Do you remember that I ended Part I of Who Am I? Who Are You? Why Do We Do the Things We Do? by asking, “Wouldn’t you like to be able to do that as well as my friend did?”

Depending on our design, we each handle those areas of potential conflict differently, whether in:
1. problem solving (either reflective or aggressive)
2. processing information (either realistic or optimistic)
3. managing change (either dynamic or predictable), and
4. facing risk (either pioneering or structured)

According to Ministry Insights there are 384 distinctive personality styles. And their Leading From Your Strengths personality assessment has been a tool that God has used in my life to bring acceptance. First, as I accept my own personal God-given design and then as I accept the God-given design of others. This assessment has been a personal life-changer for me. I much more readily understand why people act and react the way they do. Life is more fun because I take fewer things personally. And…I can enjoy and encourage others to embrace their own design.

Leading From Your Strengths (LFYS) Assessments were designed by Rodney Cox and John Trent. The three goals for creating the assessments are:

1. Understand how you are wired from the inside (how God made you)
2. Value the strength of others
3. Blend the differences among the team members and harness each person’s unique strength.

One important difference you will notice about the Ministry Insights assessment vs. others that you may have taken is this: Many of the others have a secular message, which centers on you, the individual. But the purpose of LFYS is bigger than that…centering around a Biblical message of embracing who God made you to be…but additionally… with the greater purpose of learning to embrace the uniqueness of others…in order to work well together as a team, whether in family, at work, or in the church.

This has been Part II of four parts to discovering:
Who Am I? Who Are You? Why Do We Do the Things We Do?
How can we learn to get along better together?
Watch for Part III coming soon!