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Below are links to each of the references I made in this episode. GO FIND YOUR FUN FRIEND! YOU WILL BE A BETTER LEADER FOR IT!Annie F Downs Adam Grant Angela Duckworth

September will bring a couple milestones for me. One is starting therapy for the 1st time in my adult life! No I am not depressed or even struggling. But I did determine that there are things I want to work through that I am struggling to do on my own. So I got a referral and off we go! I hope that you are well in all ways. We regularly clean our teeth, maybe we should look at therapy that way too!

Sharing my all time favorite touchstone from the Bible. According to Wikipedia a touchstone can be seen as "As a metaphor, a touchstone refers to any physical or intellectual measure by which the validity or merit of a concept can be tested." I have used this chapter as a touchstone to measure my connection to my faith and God. In times of trouble, in times of gratitude, in times of confusion reciting this chapter is a physically spoken method for me to my faith in the belief that the Lord is my Shepherd. I pray you find your rest, companionship and sustenance. 

In my opinion some of the most important things I can do is to know who I am, what my strengths are &  where I came from. I have the first 2 categories in hand. However, the 3rd one is not something I know. I am making it a project/mission to learn about the Beverlin, Holmes, Barker and Goodyear families. History has never been my strong suit, something I haven't paid attention to. But now that I am adult, time to learn stuff :) 

Dallas Jenkins from The Chosen spoke to Annie F Downs on her podcast episode 313. It was a fantastic interview. You should totally check it out. He talked about the evolution of his career. It inspired me to discuss daily living rather than striving for the big picture. 

The American novel Pollyanna was written by Eleanor H Porter.  In 1960 the great Hayley Mills portrayed Pollyanna in a Disney movie. She won a special Oscar for that role! It is a powerful movie. It is NOT about being overly optimistic about alllll things! Being Pollyanna has been used in a fairly mocking tone over the years. I spend a few minutes talking about Pollyanna and gratitude. Hope it shifts your perspective like a prism refracts light!

Extra specialNot like anyone elseOriginalUniquely craftedGod's imageHave mercy

"Tell your story because your story will heal you and it will heal someone else" - Iyanla VanzantI would love to hear from you! Find me on Insta or my email is kmassadc21@gmail.com Be Well!!! You are ENOUGH!

What is in a word?  - Letters of the alphabet - meaning outlined in resources like the Websters Dictionary - Long A - Hard C - Confusing J - I before E except after C... Sometimes! A word can be VERY confusing! A word can be uplifting! A word can be destructive! "Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me" IS TOTALLY WRONG! Words matter! I believe that if each of us would make a small, incremental change it would in fact change the world! Words show that you see the other person, love begins with words!

Discussing how having a practice of gratitude helps me to be grateful when others get to do things I wish I could be doing! Give it a listen and if it resonates with you, leave a comment on the Insta account for this pod. https://www.instagram.com/taketheleadwithkrista/

Connection is importantHumans crave itBut the way we connectThe trust that is builtDepends on listeningAsking questionsHearing the other person more than I hear my own words!

Are you like me? Striving, charging, ramming through the wall in front of you? If so, I pray this encourages you to take a breath, ask a question THEN ask again before charging forward. Don't get me wrong, this world needs those who will charge in with little regard for one's self. However, there are times when thoughtful consideration is important. I have charged in and made a bigger mess than before I entered the picture. Also, 2020 requiring me to slow way down helped me see that my own striving was not healthy. It was actually negatively impacting my mental health. Take the lead in your own health so you can be the best leader for others!

This episode is full of thoughts about bridges both real and metaphorical. I mention a podcast episode from In the Light with Dr Anita Phillips titled Notes in the Margin that started this whole episode for me! The sibling of control is fear! Please consider relinquishing the power of influence out of fear of hurt or loss. Please consider listening to understand. Listening to remember that each person has hurts and stories we don’t know. Listen so that you can remember the person speaking is a creation of the Creator. Listen so you can separate the person from the action. Remember that at the base of each and everyone of us is a creation that is fearfully and wonderfully made. LISTEN TO LOVE! We need Bridges. We need love. You know that old adage… God gave us two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak. Oh friend what would it be like if we could all listen twice as much as we speak. If we could grow in empathy and love for each other. What a bridge we could build for 2020 and the years to come!The Kintai bridge website. I used Google Translate in Google Chrome to convert to English. 

Love your neighbor as yourself has been the theme. In this episode we have a chat. I imagine you sitting with me as I tell you the story of 16 year old me and the counselor, "Cecilia" and her reaction and the 5 tips of love, showing love and feeling love for your, mine, our neighbor. I hope a couple of these tips touch you. Love is the Answer! I love you and pray love fills your life! 

Continuing with the Royal Law of "Love your neighbor as yourself" I wanted to share a few how tos in identifying who you have been made to be. I believe the power of loving ones self comes from know who God made you to be so that you can know you are unique, so that you can identify your purpose, so that you can be more confident. All these things bring confidence which is crucial in loving others better. Your identity helps you to know how you fit in the body of Christ. I share 5 how tos that I have used to know the creation God made me to be. Scripture references: Romans 12:3-10; I Corinthians 12:8-10; Ephesians 4:11https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-with-bishop-michael-curry-on-love-hope-in-troubling-times/I am who You say I amClifton Strengths

James 2:8 "Love your neighbor AS YOURSELF" This episode includes my thoughts about those last 2 words of the Royal Law. As Yourself is something I am certain each of us wrestle with regularly, daily even hourly. My main thought outlined is that when a person embraces the unique, wonderful, talented creation one is, it is then that we can be open to full love. We are each created in God's image. The belief of that will build confidence and strength to love our neighbor, all our neighbors, in any form or fashion that neighbor is. Challenge #1 Write at least 3 talents, gifts, strengths given you when you were uniquely created & post them somewhere you will see dailyChallenge #2 The next time you struggle with your neighbor, remember to see them also as a uniquely made creation!Links to referred to sources:Race and Redemption Podcast Cole Arthur Riley InstagramMark 9:24 "Lord I believe, please help my unbelief."Psalms 139:13-14 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

Season 2 has begun! On my 49th birthday! I have kept the promise I made to myself. The promise was to launch Season 2 on my birthday. Yay for a birthday and a promise kept! Now my wish is that you would open your heart, listen to me speak from the heart and consider 3 points about Loving your neighbor as yourself! Here are links to the podcasts I reference in this episode: Truth's Table   https://www.truthstable.com/podcast Truth's Table episode titled "Polarization" https://soundcloud.com/truthstable/truths-table-classroom-polarization-with-christina-edmondson Be the Bridge https://bethebridge.com/podcast/ Made for This with Jennie Allen https://www.jennieallen.com/podcast Unlocking Us with Brene Brown https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-with-sonya-renee-taylor-on-the-body-is-not-an-apology/ The Brene Brown quote I reference is in her book Rising Strong.The Royal Law James 2:8 "Love your neighbor as yourself"My email address is stoptherunon@gmail.comI pray that you are safe and healthy! That you know you are important! I celebrate the Creator and the creator in all of us!!!

Sooooo much irony! The last episode I uploaded was titled I identify as a Procrastinator. If you haven't listened to that one, go ahead. It is so much about identity and shame and how we hold ourselves back. The reality of why I have gone quiet for 6 months has a little to do with what I share in that episode. But MUCH more to do with my business jumping off. What an odd time to hit my stride... Enter stage right COVID and Enter stage left a crazy RE market! I had been working for 6 months to get traction and as this finally paid off, sheltering in place became a thing! I like you had many new things to focus on. And something had to give. So I let go of a few things, one of which was podcasting. But I am ready to get this thing going again. However, I am trying to learn and grow and develop boundaries. Season 1 was just 7 episodes. Pretty sure season 2 will be more. But I am still in the planning stages. Season 2 episode 1 will drop on 9/20/2020 which happens to be my 49th birthday. I hope to celebrate with you on that day! One of the founding concepts for Take the Lead is that each of us is created with gifts and strengths. My goal is to celebrate the Creator in YOU!  In the meantime, you can follow me on instagram.com/taketheleadwithkrista Hope to connect with you there!

So first let’s deal with the self-fulfilling prophecy. I MUST stop identifying myself as a procrastinator. I have been working over the last several years to distance myself from that identity. The first way I did that was through time management. The second way I have distanced myself from this identity is through the concept of keeping the promises I make to myself. Now I am not specifically talking about resolutions although what I am about to tell you might sound a bit like that. I am talking about making a promise to myself about something I want to work on within myself and then keeping it. What I have found is that when I trust myself to keep my personal promises, I feel more confident on the outside. When I am more confident on the outside I find that I am better at keeping my promises to others!