Life Reflection Paper

After a car accident three years ago, God used the recovery period to hone my old skills and birth new. Over the course of the process, He repositioned me for a different journey. The new path led to a transition from a secular K-12 setting to Christian higher education; yet, still within the context of supporting a diverse student population. My purpose became preparing and teaching ministerial leadership in a

If my life was good as it could be, then I would have everything I have ever wanted. I would have a kitchen full of sour gummy worms, hot chips, and all types of soda. I would have the biggest, most comfortable bed in the world so I could sleep good, because I'm all about my sleep. Also, I would have my dream car, even though I can't drive. Last but not least, I would have an unlimited amount of money that I could spend. I would do a lot of things, such as travel the world. I would go to Paris, Los Angeles, Brazil, and many more places. Also, I would go to all the amusement parks in the United States and ride all of the rides and eat funnel cake while I was there. I would go into space, and try to see all of the planets and Pluto and look at the stars up close. Additionally, I would like to be able to sleep in bed all day whenever I want. Lastly, I would go and visit the White House and go and look around at all the exhibits in the Smithsonian. If life was as good as it can

Leadership in an organization often plays a critical role, and is frequently, though not always, one of the major drivers of the success or failure of a company. (Bass, 1990) Effective leadership helps a company through times of peril and brings a future of brightness. It makes a corporation successful. However, what is leadership? According to Kouzes and Posner, it is the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations. (1995, p.30) Leaders set a clear direction for us; they help us realize what is ahead; they support us to achieve and win; they encourage and inspire us when we feel depressed. Without leadership, an organization will degenerate into chaos and unstructured because people view things in different ways.

Though life review and ordinary remembering seem synonymous, the two share very compelling and diverse similarities and differences. Life review and ordinary remembering are similar in that they both deal with recollections of the past from the onset of adolescence. The pivotal difference is that a life review takes a further step and helps the older adult recollect past memories by search for meaning within each experience and tapping into the emotions of those experiences. Ordinary remembering refers to a more informal and objective recollection of past experiences, while life review is the more formal, structural, and subjective examination of past

As the pastoral resident for Macedonia Baptist Church, I understand that I am put in the position to learn how to pastor a church, in hopes that I will gain understanding and experience to effectively pastor a church one day. I expect to learn the practicality of the things that go into pastoring a church, for example as a pastor how do I prepare for the upcoming baptisms and communion? How would I prepare the church for transition or in what ways can I learn to help a church grow and be healthy?

Although it was hard, I didn’t hesitate to look to my Heavenly Father for help. I knew He had given me this trial for reason, but I didn’t know why. I was blessed with wonderful friends and family, and I was satisfied with the way my life was, but suddenly I struggled to feel happy. I spent many nights on my knees crying and praying for help. I asked God to help me feel happy again, wondering how He would respond. I waited for an answer, but I felt like I wasn’t receiving one. It took me a few months after the school year had started to realize that He had answered my pleas for help since the first day of school began.

So often when we find ourselves in a spiritual rut and need to get unstuck in our life with Jesus we just need a bit of a new perspective. To change our view point and redirect our efforts and we’ll find our way to being unstuck. Have you ever felt stuck in your relationship with Jesus? Like things were just stagnant? Maybe the growth and excitement of your faith just disappeared? And now your feeling dry and a little bit like you’re on a spiritual plateau? You know, not moving forward but not necessarily falling backwards either. And you’re wondering, “What do I need to do to get unstuck?” Well then, here’s some good news…you’re not alone.

Since I was in high school, I have struggled with depression, and in that time, I have learned that discouragement is depression’s best friend. Together, they tear you down and make you believe that what you are doing is meaningless, that your efforts are meaningless and that you, yourself, are meaningless. While I have grown to learn the difference between the truth of God and the lies that my sickness speaks to me, I know that this will continue to be something that I struggle with and fight against. In chapter two, Fields identifies three areas in which discouragement will develop in your spiritual journey. The first is “I am not worthy”, the second is “I feel guilty”, and the third is “I feel alone”. While reading over these, I could easily identify with these feelings, as I have often felt them in my own life due to my depression. In the midst of these areas of discouragement, Fields speaks hope, saying, “When discouragement hits you, count on God to use that season in your life to increase your ministry effectiveness” (49). I truly believe in this statement, as I have seen it in my own life. When I first was diagnosed with depression, I felt so alone and fragile. Now, I can see how God has strengthened me through it and how He has enabled me to help others through my testimony. Battling discouragement is tough, however, battling it with God on your side is not. Fields reminded me that while discouragement will continue to follow me through life, God can, and will, strengthen my ministry through it. That is something that I will continue to hold on

I was riding to Florida and in the car, I started to think of how cool it would be to preach a sermon. After this, the feeling of me being a pastor never went away. I kept praying to God for him to show me if this was the right path for me to take or not. A few days later, I became aware of a work-based learning internship class I could do through my High school. I texted my youth pastor and told him that I thought that God was calling me to be a pastor. I asked him if I could intern at the church through the program. He texted me back and said he wanted to sit down and talk about it one day. I prayed to God asking him if he wants me to be a pastor, he would allow me to have the internship, if it was not meant to be, I was hoping he would not let me have it. My youth pastor, my parents, and I met on Good Friday, which was April 3 2015. He asked me what I had experienced, and in-depth questions. I obtained the internship, and ever since then God has given me little signs to assure me of my calling, such as getting accepted into The College at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. God has not given me a clear position to pursue, but I do know I am called to be a

According to Collins (2009), “Both coaching and forward progress can stall when visions are allowed to fade” (p. 176). Enthusiasm is motivating, but enthusiasm fades when there is little evidence to sustain the hope (Collins, 2009, p. 176). However, it must be remembered that often the coach’s role is to be a hope-giver and encourager even when there seems to be slow progress or none at all (Collins, 2009, p. 176). Also, it is essential to keep in mind that God’s time is a perfect time and even though we may not see any advancement God is working behind the scene towards the purpose he had set for your life (Collins, 2009). As Jeremiah said, “Lord, I know that a person’s life does not belong to him. No one can control his life.” (Jeremiah 10:23, NVC) (Collins, 2009, p.178). James 4:15 (NIV) “Instead, you ought to say, if it is the Lord’s will, we will live and

Recently I sat down with my pastor to discuss my future in ministry. I had some very heavy things weighing on my heart. After laying them out, I stated that “I often feel like I don’t have the needed self-confidence to do this ministry thing” and that “I think that I’m going to need a very supportive pastor in order to survive my first pastorate.” It was there that he stopped me cold and made if very clear that I could not and should not enter into ministry with that mindset. I could not expect my self-confidence to come from other people. I had to seek that from God. In the moments to come, through some very introspective conversation, I realized that I had been approaching the entire idea of ministry from the wrong direction. Without realizing it I had made it a “strong on the outside” thing. I had completely avoided the true spiritual formation that needed to be occurring on the inside.

I thought and prayed over the next several weeks and honestly I complained and vented to few of my pastoral colleagues about the situation; but the truth of the matter was that they too needed consoling given the fact that they also were struggling with similar battles. Then it dawned on me, why was I complaining? I thought to myself, if I was truly called to ministry by God then anything I place my hand upon can and would be blessed. That is, only if I would begin to exercise greater faith and trust in God; shedding my disbelief only to dawn a new outlook on the path of church leadership. After all, God has place unique and specially gifts inside the hearts and spirits of all of his children. It was from that moment that I began to pray and talked with God with frequency taking to heart the words written in the Gospel of Matthew 6:21 "Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be, For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also". I had not consider the heart of God nor the hearts of the people of New Creation. I had been looking for treasure with my eyes,

Life events rarely make memorable landmarks, that help determine your future and how to pursue life goals. However, in this very season of life I find myself consumed by the idea of fulfilling my purpose as God intended it. The life altering event of taking on a pastorate, brings everything into a new perspective. Bearing in mind that now there is a congregation I must give accounts for, makes me rethink life as I knew it. I am compelled to become as scholarly equipped as my mind can handle. My life has undertaken a reboot, and God’s mercy helps me perceive, and I P-U-S-H (pray until something happens) until God gives the answer.

This to me is the thesis of this entire lecture. Death is a scary thing to go through, whether a person is hit by a bus or dying from a terminal illness. It is hard on the induvial as well as their families. My mother had a heart attack two years ago in April and went into a coma. We spent two days in the hospital talking with her and hoping she would wake up, but one by one her organs shut down and she was on a ventilator. It did not take us long to realize she was leaving this world. She was young, 52 years old, we could have put her on life support, but we knew it was futile. Even though my parents are divorced and have been since I was 11 I am so proud of my family for how we handled her last days with respect and dignity.

One's dream and aspirations to supersede in life must be stronger and greater than limitations set forth by others. The experience that were bestowed to me during my short life has elevated me to the woman I am today. Please walk with me as I give you the opportunity to see the world from my eyes: