Guidance Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Lisa Colón DeLay

The Remedy for Evil

I’m a bit more than half way through teaching a small group of adult learners about Evil, God’s Justice, Love, Mercy, Reconciliation, and Kingdom of God living with great guidance of a slew of videos from Tom Wright.

When we decry Evil we mustn’t stop there for we are the remedy for it.

God’s Kingdom is made manifest through us. We exact justice by helping those who are suffering rather than through the power games a godless world endorses and implements.

It is not about self-interest, but self-sacrifice.

Our fuel is the knowing that we are indeed image bearers and creations of God made from the outpouring and overflowing of his great love. We are God’s Beloved and we offer that gift to the world, that they too, each one is Beloved as well. We especially find the ones that are overlooked or oppressed or unhealed.

We do more than associate with these outcasts, the ones that others find embarrassing or scandalous, we suffer with them and enter their pain.

Sometimes simple seeing and hearing someone fully and taking them into our loving kindness will well convey that they are God’s Beloved because we’ve treated them with such honor. An honor that is due them because they are God’s children.

I made up this slide and it may be a good poster too, so I offer it up to you. (click the image) Pin it if you’d like.

And now a question for you.

What particular group of misfits holds a soft spot in your heart? Send me a voicemail or leave a message.

Protected: Discernment Series

On Finding a Mentor

Today as a regular contributor at the Deeper Leader Blog, I’m linking in with them, and tackling the topic of Mentoring today.

I’ve always seen the value in having the aid of someone a bit further down the road from me.

As a kid, camp counselors provided this a bit. In undergraduate school, my academic advisor turned out to be a helpful voice in my life, and in my profession, but not someone who had a heart for God. At church, I had prayer partners, and in graduate school a few ladies had mentoring qualities I really appreciated. None of them though really nailed what I was looking for. It took over ten years to pair up with a trained spiritual guide that made sense for me.

It happened in a most unexpected way. I went outside of my Christian tradition (Evangelical) and attended a very enriching day of personal guided prayer at a Jesuit Spiritual Center during the season of Lent. There I heard Sister Maria and I thought, “This woman is like a female Gandalf. I need her!”

But she was booked in that area and could take me on. :(

I continued speaking with her and asking for her help. Maybe she had a clone I could work with, I suggested.

But she didn’t have a clone and thought that was a strange idea to be cloned in the first place.

She did send me to a lovely, wise, grandmotherly woman who became my formal spiritual director, and I continue to meet with her each month.

Like a thought it would be, the benefit of a mentor is invaluable.
A spiritual guide, companion, advocate and advisor with maturity has incalculable worth in our lives. It’s no wonder that so many leaders fail, or ministers fall off into affairs, pornography or other addictions so readily. They don’t make guidance a priority. The accountability and advocacy that a spiritual guide brings doesn’t remove the bumpy pathces, but it certainly makes them more bearable!

It took me over 10 years to find one, but it was worth it.

For those who seek a mentor I have some advice:

• KEEP LOOKING! (push discouragement aside!)
• Ask around. A lot.
• Find a spiritual center that trains spiritual companions
(Evangelicals do not seem to have this in ANY abundance, but Catholics are really into it.)
• Make the first move, (don’t wait to be asked by a mentor, approach him or her)
• A directory of spiritual companions may help find you someone, but if you don’t find a good fit on the first try, keep looking.

Don’t know where to start? Here’s a large directory (international, with various spiritual traditions included)
at Spiritual Directors International.

What about you? Have you ever had a mentor or spiritual guide? If not, what do you hope for in a mentor?
Share your story at the Deeper Leader Blog, or read what other have to say.

What Makes a Good Leader?

This is the first question of the Leadership Synchroblog sponsored by Evangelical Seminary, running September 10th-14th.

Though most of us don’t run big companies, command platoons, or lead mega-churches, but we’ve all had our experiences with leadership.

And in certain ways we all lead:

• As a parent

• As a mentor, coach, or teacher

• In ministry

• On a project

• At our job

• In our neighborhood

…and so on.

So you’ve probably learned some things along the way through your own experiences. OR, conversely, you’ve been led by an inapt leader…so, you know what NOT to do.

Whatever your story, you can read excellent Leadership resources AND join in the first Leadership Synchroblog in the week of SEPTEMBER 10-14th (2012).

Weigh in on “What Makes a Good Leader”. Other topics will follow, usually twice per month. You can check the blog for guest writers and new Synchroblog topics. Write you own contribution and then connect to this bigger conversation.

By contributing, you’ll be part of making leaders better and a larger community with this focus at the fore. We’ve invited some leading experts in the field to weigh in too, so don’t forget to check out what they have to say on Leadership at the blog.Contributor GUIDANCE / REQUIREMENTS:
To participate…
• Use the Leadership Synchro Contributor Badge– (up there)

• Encourage growth in maturity. (This means your piece should be positive toward education, training, and development, and notring negative or disparaging toward others. Such as a specific Leader’s failure, for instance.)

• Link back to through the Badge (or use a text link), that links back to this address: http://www.evangelical.edu/macl/

• Comment on a blog post at least one other Synchro Blog participant. Optimally, once per day (or more), during Sept 10-14th.

• Promote your own post (and the series) well through available outlets (like Facebook, Twitter, Stumble on, google+, etc) to generate interest.

Thank you for caring about this subject and doing what you can to nurture better leaders!

The Evangelical Seminary will host links to all contributions.

Giveaway Winners and Rolling out the Series!

What a flurry of activity in the last 10 days! The get-the-word-out pre-release giveaway has wrapped up! Thank you for participating!

Tomorrow is the release of Volumes 1-3
[Soul Care for Creators and Communicators Series].

A special thanks to my generous master editor: The fantastic Dr. Doug Jackson. His charity was labor of love. My writer friends in the Bloggers Series were immensely supportive too. (Click here to read their fine contributions.)

VOLUMES 1-3
This collection reads fast…like tv…and covers the topics:

• “What is the Soul? & What is Soul Care?”

This premise-building volume gets us to track from the same point onward. That fact is you and I need Soul Care, and we need it now. I’ll explain why.

• Identity and Belonging

We deal with core needs. This targets how to find your place in this world and in your calling of creating and message-bearing. Without our bearings we’ll get off-track and discouraged. This important message is one you don’t want to miss.
• The 8 Paths of Learning

• Utilize the paths for your own growth. Progress faster and better.

• Guide others in a well-rounded process of knowledge and development

• Fresh insights and information on the learning paths you already use

• A potent approach to synthesizing and assimilating learning to produce transformation

Written in a way to amuse and designed in a visual format that reads as fast as tv. You won’t get bogged down and it’s all FREE:

Volumes 1-3 come to you for zilch when you sign up here.
(or with the widget in the sidebar)

A subscription also entitles you to a sweet discount on the entire 5 Volume collection arriving on May 10th. More info on that May 8th.

• BONUS CONTENT
Subscribers also receive an appendage volume plus a visual resource chart (titled Volume 3.5) that introduces the 5 Learning Styles of the Soul and explains their nature and practical applications. Some stellar photos come with that too.

My friends with creative minds and hearts yearning to bear good news…Help is on the way! Check back tomorrow for the unveiling.

Here’s a sort video that explains the Series.
(All you Sesame Street fans may enjoy the comedic tribute.)

See you tomorrow!