Last week Pete Wilson posted on “Impression Management” what he calls “the process through which people try to control the impressions other people form of them. It’s a conscious or unconscious (but usually conscious)  attempt to influence the perceptions of other people through controlling information in social interaction.”

I am pretty skilled in this. Not that it is something to brag about. Maybe my “impression management” skills make me more qualified to be in communications? Maybe it is my WOO factor? But maybe they keep me from ever really feeling completely known?

Here, on the blog, I have figured out how to reveal enough that I seem transparent while leaving out the tidbits that I fear might send you packing. (more…)

Disclaimer: If you wanted something light and fluffy today, this post is not for you. But you can go here where we are discussing “guilty pleasures.”

Disclaimer 2: If you wanted something that was poignant and tied up with a pretty bow, this post this blog is not for you. But you can go here where I at least make a concise point.

Most of the time my thoughts are linear. You know the kind? A + B = C?

But everyone once in awhile when something big happens my brain just gets stuck, stuck in a circle. And I keep processing the same thoughts over and over, and over. I just can’t seem to make sense of them. I just can’t come to any kind of definitive conclusion.

And, as you can imagine, the “thought death-spiral” is quite frustrating. It halts productivity. It drains energy. (more…)

This is the third post in my “Drafting Blueprints” series. The series is prompting me to think through what I want to do with my life as a first step for creating a life plan. I have already tackled getting married and getting fit.

So here we go, Part 3…I want to get my hands dirty.

It is easy for me to dream of changing the world from the comfort of my living room couch but I lately I have felt called to do more. I want to go to the ends of the earth. And I want to get my hands a little dirty. (more…)

Most of my “in real life” friends are not very into Social Media, Web 2.0, Blogging, Twitter, etc. Yep, they think I am kind of freaky, or more accurately geeky. But a few have even expressed interest in reading my blog but complain that they never know when I have posted something new.

So…I thought I would share with simple step-by-step instructions on keeping up with their favorite blogs using a Google Homepage. Google Homepage enables me to keep up with all my favorite blogs and is very simple and easy-to-use.

Here’s how:

1. Make a list of blogs you want to read regularly. (more…)

Have you ever sat in church and felt like your pastor, priest, or minister is speaking directly to you? Or actually that God is screaming at the top of His lungs at you through your pastor, priest, or minister? And instantly a gut-wrenching conviction bombards your soul. Unfortunately, I know this feeling all too well. Selfishly I so wish I could sit through just one message and think, “I am so on top of this, God. I’ve already got this one covered.” But somehow I doubt I will ever get there.

Last Sunday at Cross Point, Pete encouraged us to take a moment and ask God if there was something, anything, He was asking us to do that we were neglecting. Painful question, right? Because of course, several things came to mind. Several things that I knew God was calling me to take care of and I was avoiding. Or maybe I wasn’t completely avoiding them, but I wasn’t quite doing them either. Several things God was asking me to change, but candidly I was still trying to negotiate the deal with God (But I guess that is not really how it works?) (more…)