The hard drive which is my life has been stuck in a loop of some sort and I’m in desperate need of a reset. Seriously. If I am to grab hold of my purpose, then I have to let go of other things that have become distractions.

Even as I write this post, my thoughts are jumbled, but they center around four points.

1. Lent and Fasting
2. My Growing Appetite
3. Moving Toward
4. Accountability

Lent and Fasting
As I considered what to give up this year for Lent, two things came to mind. Sugar and social media. Frankly, I rationalized why those were bad ideas. I couldn’t give up social media because it’s tied into what I do for a living. That would be ridiculous. And sugar? Far too difficult to maintain. So I decided to give up dessert. My “fast” only lasted for a few days, maybe a couple of weeks at most.

Surely Jesus would understand.

My Growing Appetite
I’m speaking both physically and metaphorically. The physical part really needs no explanation. Look as far as my waistline and you’ll see the results of increased food intake. When I look in the mirror, I no longer see the skinny high school girl, nor the young woman to whom people often commented, “You should be a model.”  Sadly, I’m on the wrong side of the age/metabolism/weight equation but my behavior hasn’t changed.

The metaphorical part is about my appetite for connectivity, including social media interaction. My appetite is fiercely out of proportion with my ability to maintain the intake. (Maybe you know what I mean.) How many times during a day (during a minute) do I really need to check email? Why do I feel the need to read what everyone’s doing on Facebook? In the grand scheme of things, what difference does it make if I interact with thousands of people (or even a hundred) on Twitter? And just because I CAN do something, may not mean that I SHOULD be doing it.

My appetite is out of whack.

Moving Toward
Over the last few months, God has been moving me towards writing. Again. (I’m such a slow learner!) I know it as surely as I know my name is Cheryl Smith. I am to write the story of His faithfulness in my life so it can be an encouragement for others who are going through difficult times. And I’m making progress.

But the writing is slow. And I get distracted. Easily. And it’s tough writing about the hard places of life.

So I’ve wrestled a lot with God. (Please tell me you do this too.) Wanting to obey Him, within the depths of my heart. Wanting to be faithful as He has been faithful. When it comes right down to it, however, I’m still walking according to my own will. Flesh. I’ve gotten really good at rationalizing and making excuses. And spending my time connecting with others and teaching them how to connect with others, instead of doing what I know is my calling.

“The good is the enemy of the best.”

Accountability
On Monday this week I participated in my first Leadership Huddle phone call. At the invitation of John Chandler of the Spence Network, I’ll be engaging with leaders throughout Virginia Baptist life on a regular basis. The “huddle” is for an hour a week (give or take for holidays), for the next twelve weeks.

During the first call we talked about the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness and which of the three temptations we might be experiencing. (My temptation was appetite.) John offered “a prescription” to help me address that area of temptation. Any guesses? Fasting.

Thankfully, though I tried to ignore God’s invitation to sacrifice something during Lent, He gave me another chance to obey. Not because He wants obedience. Rather, He wants to refine the attitudes and actions within me that keep me from His plan and purpose in my life. His best for me. Next week I’m to give an account for how I’m doing with my prescription.

It’s high challenge.

So What?
Between now and Easter I’m hitting the reset button.

Other than what is necessary for my commitment as Welcome Editor for High Calling Blogs (and a presentation on social media next week for the Bluefield Chamber), I’m going to fast from my use of social media to help me reset my perspective on connectivity. I’m also giving up sugar and carbs, to help me reset my perspective on food.

My prayer is that I will use the extra time and energy to write more of that story about God’s faithfulness in my life.

Dear Lord, My spirit is willing but my flesh is weak. Emmanuel, be with me. Empower me through your Holy Spirit.

What About You?

• Do you ever feel like life needs a reset button?
  
• What have you moved away from, in order to move towards?
  
• How has accountability played a role in realizing God’s purpose for your life?

I’d love to hear your answers in the form of a comment.

Creative Commons photo on Flickr by krunkwerke.

I’ve realized recently that there are so many cool things going on in my world that I don’t often take the time to share them with you. I want to wait until I have lots of time to write about them in great detail, and in so doing, I don’t share them at all. I mean, who has time?

Today, I’m making the time to share a few of my week’s highlights. Let me know what you think.

• On Monday, I sat in on my first Leadership Huddle call. More about that tomorrow.
• Tuesday I spent most of my day with the Lynchburg Day Aglow Leadership Team. I’ve recently been installed onto the leadership team and am excited about what God is going to do as a result of this opportunity.
• Wednesday was St. Patrick’s Day and the anniversary of when I met Peter. I also joined in the celebration of a difficult birthday for a dear friend over a great meal.
• Yesterday I was home for most of the day with a sick child, and started feeling not so great myself. I found some great new blogs thanks to High Calling Blogs.
• This afternoon I enjoyed homemade chicken noodle soup for lunch, while wearing my pjs, brought to me by a dear friend.
• And so begins the weekend.

Life is good.

How was your week?

And if you’re in business, it should have you thinking as well. Even if you’re not in the publishing business.

Watch the video below, then ponder the five insights I gleaned and see if any of them resonate with you.

Five Reasons You Should Be Thinking About the Future of Publishing:

1. Things change. You can no longer rely strictly on what worked 20 years ago, or even last year, to make you successful tomorrow. It’s a different day. Vastly different. (You’ve heard it more times that you can count, but it’s still worth repeating.)
2. Technology is huge. And it’s going to be even bigger tomorrow. Mobile phones, apps, connectivity. Pay attention. You must wrap your brain around this aspect of life and communication, in order to remain competitive.
3. Values and the environment matter. Especially if you’re trying to reach Gen X and Gen Y. And if you’re not trying to reach them, your business likely already has one nail in the coffin.
4. Listening is important. Where and how you’re listening is even more important. Are you listening where people are talking, or are you simply putting out a suggestion box, hoping someone will drop a card in, and then ignoring that suggestion when someone actually remembers to check the suggestion box months later? Or worse, is your business simply shouting marketing messages through a megaphone?
5. A change in perspective can reverse negative trends. What do you need to see differently? Can you write the script in reverse order and discover even one interesting tidbit that just might spur new business opportunities?

What do you think of the video? Clever marketing or truth? And why?

(This post is in response to Michael Hyatt’s post “The Future of Publishing.”)

Yesterday morning during my presentation about Facebook Fan Pages, I was viewing the Toms Shoes Fan Page when I noticed the ad below. Please, someone, tell me how a female, viewing a shoe fan page, could be a good target for — a jock strap! I don’t even have the right equipment.

Can you say “Facebook Dating Ads?” And are we all simply destined to be subjected to really off the mark targeting?

And the weirdest part of all? Who gives jock straps as gifts?

This morning I presented a session on Social Media for the Christian Campers & Conference Centers Association, Carolinas/Virginias Sectional Meeting.  For the most part, our discussion centered around the effective use of Facebook Fan Pages.

In my opening comments, I mentioned that not all businesses (organizations) should have fan pages. If a business sucks in real life, why would I want to be a fan on facebook. (As a side note, I don’t accept fan page invites if I’ve never done business with you, never been to your place of business, or never read your book, etc. Just sayin’.)

We also talked about companies that are doing Facebook Fan pages well: Zappos, Toms Shoes, Chick-Fil-A.

Here’s a look at my slide deck.

I’m doing a presentation on social media tomorrow for the Christian Camp & Conference Centers Association and want to highlight a few companies that are doing great things on their Facebook Fan Pages. Zappos, of course, is one of my favorite companies so I found the link to the Zappos fan page so I could brag on how they use fun (one of the Zappos ten core values) to engage fans.

This is what I saw tonight:

In the words of Randy, from American Idol, “Dude! That was dope!”

Are you a fan of any personalities, companies or non-profit organizations on Facebook, and if so, who and why?

This afternoon I facilitated a session on Networking IRL (In Real Life) for Young Professionals of Central Virginia. Here’s my slide deck. I’d love to know what you think.

What’s your favorite networking story?

For the next three days I’ll be at the Ecclesia 2010 National Gathering in Maryland. Why, you might ask, am I going to a church planting conference? That would be a good question.

The first, and easy answer is because for the last year plus, I’ve been working with WMUV and the Spence Network to put together a leadership group for women in ministry, and this is one of the events the Uptick group is attending. Actually, both the men’s and women’s Uptick groups will be together for this event, which is expected to draw hundreds of people (800 or so is the number that sticks out in my mind, but I have no idea if that is based in reality or just some random number pulled from the recesses of my brain) from throughout the United States and beyond.

Here are at least four other reasons I’m attending the Ecclesia 2010 National Gathering:

1. Nurture existing relationships. Over the last year, I’ve had the privilege to work with and meet some incredibly sharp people in Virginia Baptist life. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with those folks.

2. Learn something useful. My church is in a time of transition. Being with the best and brightest minds in missional churches today will surely give me at least one or two ideas that I can take home to share with my own church leadership. I’m sure they’ll be some business and social media implications as well.

3. Make great connections. I love meeting new people and seeing how I can connect those people with others who can help accomplish their goals. If you’re attending Ecclesia, be sure to look me up and say hi. (That reminds me. I must pack business more business cards.)

4. Do a little scouting. As I mentioned, our church is in a time of transition. I’ll be on the lookout for the names of potential ministers whose names I can pass along to our Pastor Search Committee.

Are you attending the Ecclesia 2010 National Gathering?
If so, tell me what you’re hoping to get out of the gathering. What focused sessions are on your radar screen?

Creative Commons photo by 917press on Flickr.

Each year around Valentine’s Day, my ex-husband comes into town to spend the weekend with Hannah and Morgan, our two children. They were both born in February so he’s able to celebrate their birthdays and spend a long weekend (President’s Day) with them. I found out earlier this morning that he’s not going to make it due to poor driving conditions between Evansville and Lynchburg.

Since he now lives in another state, the kids only see him for several weeks during the summer, a week at Christmas, and a week at Spring Break or Wednesday through Sunday during Thanksgiving (alternating each year). They also have a couple of weekends when he comes back to Virginia, typically once in the Fall and once this month.

They’ve had their hearts set on seeing him this weekend.

I wondered how disappointed they would be when they found out. (They spent they night with friends last night so Peter and I could see Celtic Woman in Roanoke. They weren’t home when he called.)

As I was praying about the phone conversation they would soon have with their dad, I was reminded of a Bible verse about hope and disappointment. I did a quick search on Bible Gateway and found Romans 5:5.

“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

Those are good words for this Valentine’s Day. Hope (in God) doesn’t disappoint us. God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Those words settled my heart and I began to pray them for my children.

When I backed up to read the overall  passage, I was immediately drawn to verses 3-4. “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

It’s not easy to rejoice in sufferings. It’s especially difficult when I think about my children working through their disappointment. But I know God won’t waste their pain nor disappointments. He can do a deeper work in their lives and He will use this to build perseverance, character and hope in them.

Once I picked up Hannah and Morgan to take them to school, I let them call their dad. First he talked to Hannah, then Morgan. He explained that road conditions between Evansville and Lynchburg might be too risky and that the already long drive could take a lot longer on either end of the trip. He discussed a visit sometime next month. They’ll work out the details in the coming weeks.

After the conversation, we sat in the car of their school parking lot and talked. I wanted to make sure they were OK before they went to class. In typical almost-14-year old-style, Hannah was already discussing what she could do with her friends this weekend. Morgan, however, was a bit more introspective. He was obviously affected by the conversation yet also  wanted to be understanding. He acknowledged his disappointment, but then quickly added, “only a little.”

My heart broke – for both of them. I paraphrased Romans 5:5. I said, “I love you. I’ll be praying for you today.” And I told them to have a good day.

Peter and I will plan something fun with them this weekend. It won’t be the same as having their dad here.

Sometimes life is messy. Disappointment happens. It sucks when it’s Valentine’s Day. And when it’s your kids.

How do you help your children deal with disappointment?

Creative Commons photo “Broken Hearted2” on Flickr by Innocent Eyez.

Last month I signed a one-year contract to become a Welcome Editor for High Calling Blogs, “a network of personal websites focused specifically on the intersection of faith and work.” Here are just a few of the cool things I’ll be doing throughout 2010:

• Welcome new members to the network.
• Read blog posts by High Calling Blogs members.
• Help members in that community make connections.

Really. It’s like my Steve Martin post, all over again. “I get paid for doing this.”

If you’re not yet familiar with High Calling Blogs, take a look around. And read this post by L. L. Barkat, “5 Things Our Network Can Do For You.” You can also follow High Calling Blogs on Twitter @highcallngblog and become a fan on The High Calling on Facebook.

What do you think of High Calling Blogs, and my new bag?

Leave a comment, then kick back and watch the Godfather of Soul, James Brown: Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag