If, by Rudyard Kipling, is one of my favorite poems ever. It sets forth the difficulties that accompany success, but inspires one to take them on nonetheless. Kipling gives the hard facts but makes you want to do it anyway. Now there's motivational writing! And motivational living, for that matter. Think what an impact a life that really looked like this would make. The people who saw it would never, could never, be the same. Such a life would not only be inspired, it would be itself an inspiration. Can we, or rather will we, take the challenge?
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master,
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
AE Assignment 6 Pictures
Advanced EXCEL assigns that I take pictures of various concepts and load them on my blog, so here they are:
1. Stapler: from the inside...
2. Reflections: twin soaps
3. Leap: anticipation
4. Fears: uselessness...
5. Coffee: mug, journal, and pen--a perfect afternoon
6. Time: "For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?...If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come." ~ Job 17:7-10, 14
7. Squirrel: Treed!
8. White Trash: I'm still puzzling over this topic, but they asked for it...this is my trash can, by the way.
9. Date: Double Date, that is...
10. Police: cops and robbers...
11. Self-portrait: with the help of my dresser mirror
12. Making a Statement: Guess the composer...
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Women in Leadership
One of my recent assignments was an essay stating my convictions on "women in leadership." This is an interesting subject that I think is not often enough addressed. The feminist trend of offensive, masculine women leaders can bring up a reaction against anything that appears like strength and capability. The key is to find God's balance between the two. I tried to address this in my essay, and thought I would post it here:
I believe in women who are leaders. I believe in women who are fearless and strong, ready for a challenge. I believe that the Kingdom of God will be only as strong as its citizens, and that women are citizens of that Kingdom.
The children of God are called to be leaders, and God makes no stipulation that women are not included. Men and women alike are called to be influencers, to seek to glorify God in their lives and in their society. Each Christian is meant to be a leader. They may lead obviously, or lead quietly, or lead unconsciously, but they all are intended to be leaders.
To reject that design and resign from that leadership is to retreat from the field, to lessen the ranks of the Kingdom’s defenders. Worse, it is to lead negatively. Rejection of design always leads only to perversion. In retreating from the field, a Christian woman does not retreat alone. She takes others with her, and disheartens the ones who remain. There is no true escape from leadership, for we are created leaders.
People often discuss whether women should be in authority. I believe that women may be in positions of authority. It is not sinful for a woman to organize an event, or delegate responsibilities.
That being said, there are some positions of authority that women should not fill. Spiritual authority is delegated to men. So is civil. Any time in the Bible that a woman takes these roles, it is a curse to her people. This does not mean that a woman should not lead other women spiritually—the Bible specifically commands that—but leading and mentoring younger women, and being responsible for and in authority over a body of believers, are two different things.
I believe also that women should be in authority under authority. Scripture clearly states that “the head of the woman is the man” (1 Cor 11:3). God’s design is for women to be under the authority of men, usually their husbands or fathers. If a position requires a woman to be out from under such authority, or to go against it, or to usurp it, it is not an acceptable position for her.
This, by the way, is not some sort of irrational, masochistic stipulation. The same reasoning that brings that belief (a rebellious dislike of authority) concludes that God’s requirement that we be under His authority is irrational and chauvinistic. If God has made a person a woman, it is because she will be better fitted for her fore-ordained destiny as a woman than as a man. Being under that authority will further his plans for her, not hinder them.
The Kingdom of God needs its women to be leaders now as much as or more than it ever has in the past. It needs women of character and courage, women who stand firm at the darkest hour, women who do not lead for themselves because they despise to be led but who lead for their King because they follow Him unwavering. These are the women the Kingdom waits for; these are the women we are called to be.
I believe in women who are leaders. I believe in women who are fearless and strong, ready for a challenge. I believe that the Kingdom of God will be only as strong as its citizens, and that women are citizens of that Kingdom.
The children of God are called to be leaders, and God makes no stipulation that women are not included. Men and women alike are called to be influencers, to seek to glorify God in their lives and in their society. Each Christian is meant to be a leader. They may lead obviously, or lead quietly, or lead unconsciously, but they all are intended to be leaders.
To reject that design and resign from that leadership is to retreat from the field, to lessen the ranks of the Kingdom’s defenders. Worse, it is to lead negatively. Rejection of design always leads only to perversion. In retreating from the field, a Christian woman does not retreat alone. She takes others with her, and disheartens the ones who remain. There is no true escape from leadership, for we are created leaders.
People often discuss whether women should be in authority. I believe that women may be in positions of authority. It is not sinful for a woman to organize an event, or delegate responsibilities.
That being said, there are some positions of authority that women should not fill. Spiritual authority is delegated to men. So is civil. Any time in the Bible that a woman takes these roles, it is a curse to her people. This does not mean that a woman should not lead other women spiritually—the Bible specifically commands that—but leading and mentoring younger women, and being responsible for and in authority over a body of believers, are two different things.
I believe also that women should be in authority under authority. Scripture clearly states that “the head of the woman is the man” (1 Cor 11:3). God’s design is for women to be under the authority of men, usually their husbands or fathers. If a position requires a woman to be out from under such authority, or to go against it, or to usurp it, it is not an acceptable position for her.
This, by the way, is not some sort of irrational, masochistic stipulation. The same reasoning that brings that belief (a rebellious dislike of authority) concludes that God’s requirement that we be under His authority is irrational and chauvinistic. If God has made a person a woman, it is because she will be better fitted for her fore-ordained destiny as a woman than as a man. Being under that authority will further his plans for her, not hinder them.
The Kingdom of God needs its women to be leaders now as much as or more than it ever has in the past. It needs women of character and courage, women who stand firm at the darkest hour, women who do not lead for themselves because they despise to be led but who lead for their King because they follow Him unwavering. These are the women the Kingdom waits for; these are the women we are called to be.
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