Are you a people pleaser? You might think of yourself as a peacemaker, always trying to maintain the status quo and avoid conflict so that no one leaves your presence with their feathers ruffled. That doesn’t sound like a bad think to be, does it? However, when you get into the habit of placing everyone else’s comfort level far above your own, problems can ensue. For instance, if you haven’t learned how to speak your truth, how can you be sure that others are being honest with you? If you can’t give a sincere “No” out of concern for hurting someone’s feelings, how can anyone be comfortable with the “Yes” you utter? All of your responses become questionable and so do those of the people you s
When I decided to return to college rather late in life surrounded by students much younger than I was, I must admit I felt a little foolish sitting in the classroom. I used to joke and say I wasn’t your average college kid. But it took me a good while to decide to walk into my calling and fulfill the very purpose that I knew God had created me for. I wasted a good deal of time dancing to the beat of my own drummer. How many of you know what that’s like? While I was out there in the world doing my own thing and the people that I’d grown up with had already earned degrees and forged careers, I’m sure I appeared like quite the loser to many. I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up or
