My second highest ranking strength is Responsibility

People who are especially talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.

Coming on the heals of a rather rough and stress-filled, week, this strength has given me pause to evaluate. When I say I will do something, when I give my word, I will bend over backwards to fulfill the expectations. I also have the tendency to take responsibility for things that I see falling through the cracks. It is usually those items that cause me extreme stress.

Matthew 5:37 says that we are to let our 'yes' be 'yes' and our 'no' be 'no.'

Christ shows the ultimate responsibility! Thankfully he took on himself the responsibility of paying for our sin. When God made the decision that he would send His son to earth to die, the Son stepped up and accepted the responsibility. Even while in the garden, moments before the soldiers arrived, he did not look forward to the path he was about to walk, but he held true to his commitment.

While this may be an inherent strength, I fall short of Christ's example of follow through.

My highest ranking strength: Connectedness

People who are especially talented in the Connectedness theme have faith in the links between all things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason.

In reading through the more detailed description there are some terms that, I must admit, I do not buy into. To be fair, I am a Christ-follower and live, work and breath: Church, or better defined - the Community of Believers. When I read phrases like, "collective unconscious" or "life force" it does rub me the wrong way. That being said: I understand that the author is not coming from the same paradigm as me and will not let the terms get in the way.

I do believe that there is a link between all things. I do believe that there is a God who has created everything and is involved in His creation. I believe that we have free will and God will not override our decisions, even when we are making foolish decisions.

I do believe that 'nothing happens in a vacuum'. Decisions we make today will affect who and what we are in five years. Choices we make today will have intended consequences but also unintended consequences. How we choose to live, or should I say, for whom we choose to live will effect our eternity.

I do believe that we are too live as a community, not as individuals. The needs of the group should come before the rights of individual.

Yes, I believe that there is a connectedness through all things. I believe that God is in all things and through all things.

Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

And yet, plenty of children grow up and become emotionally broken, codependent, needy and/or abusive. The difference is the path, not the intent! Often times we make decisions with intended consequences... the outcomes we are trying to accomplish. There are also unintended consequences. Unintended consequences can sometimes be positive, but they may also be negative.

Lately I've been trying to ask myself, "What are the potential unintended consequences to this decision?" More often than not it is impossible to see into the future and predict all the consequences of a decision. However, intentionally asking the question helps me look past the decision as a strategic step to address an issue. I have a better chance of keeping the ultimate goal in mind.

Parenting isn't the only arena in life where the path we choose leads to different destinations with multiple unintended consequences. Some other paths to choose carefully include:

• marriage
• employment
• spiritual growth
• education
• personal finances

The list can go on. Pick you path carefully, it does lead somewhere. There are consequences, intended and unintended to every decision we make.

A tree’s purpose is grow and remain standing, strong and healthy. Sometimes through outside forces or inside forces, trees fall. Usually the fall indicates something is was wrong with the tree. As leaders, we need to focus on the quiet, steady growth of those we are leading. Whether it is an organization or a group of individuals, healthy growth is the preventative measure to a premature fall.

In growing healthy followers of Christ, we must never forget the fundamentals.

1. Reading the Bible (for more than information)
2. Praying (for more than meals)
3. Christ-centered relationships (for more than social connections)

Often times we are distracted by the excitement of rapid and sudden change, the new idea that is creating buzz, however, it is often in the quiet, consistent execution of the fundamentals that healthy growth occurs.

Far too often prayer is something we participate in when we need God to bail us out of some circumstance instead of keeping the lines of communication open in the most important relationship of your life.

If you have children, you know the feeling when one of you children approaches and says, “I love you.” The words are nice to hear, but sometimes there is something about the tone with which they are delivered that you intuitively know that they are about to ask for something. I often wonder how often, when I pray, God experiences that same feeling. I wonder if God ever feels like we view him as a ‘sugar-daddy.’

This week in your pray time, focus on communicating with God, not on asking God for things. Intentionally listen more that talk. Prayer is a conversation with our heavenly dad, not the presentation of our list of wants to Santa.