Order brings Restoration

The first month of the year has now passed. January 2018 has come and gone. What have you accomplished so far this year? Did you make any resolutions? Have you kept any of those commitments?

January was pretty uneventful for me. I intentionally slowed down last month so that I could spend more time developing spiritually, deepening my relationship with God. Believe it or not, it was pretty challenging for me to schedule my days in a way that I could have even more quiet time with God, more time to read scripture, more time to pray. Now I don’t share this with you so that you can pat me on the back or applaud my efforts. Rather, I share this to explain how God revealed to me my “one word” for the year. 

Over the past 4 years, I’ve adopted the “one word” challenge or plan for each year. The idea behind the “one word” movement is that individuals would select one word that would be their focus for the year. According to My One Word (www.myoneword.org), folks typically “choose a problematic behavior that has plagued [them] for years and vow to reverse it.” Unfortunately this strategy tends to never work and folks feel even worse than they did before they identified their issue(s) and developed the subsequent resolutions to change their behaviors. My One Word allows individuals “to lose the long list of change…and instead pick one word. This process provides clarity by taking big plans for life change and narrowing them down into a single focus.” My (as in Gina’s) one words have included alignment, transformation, and last year, it was transition. This year, my one word is Order.

Throughout my increased quiet time with God, He continued to say to me over and over again, the word Order. The first few times (yes – few times, because I am stubborn and bull headed) I heard the word, I was confused by why I was being assigned this word. In my mind, I had brought significant order to my life in various areas including my work, my home, my relationships, and my marriage. Obviously…I needed to bring order to my life and God was speaking to me loud and clear. I started to pray about the word and asked God to reveal more to me so that I could walk out His plan. As I studied and requested more clarity, chaos broke out. Yep. This is what tends to happen when you ask for clarity – crazy appears. Slowly, even in the midst of chaos, God showed me the value of order in my love language of acronyms. Let me share.

O is for Open. When you bring order to your life, you find more time in your days and thus are more OPEN to opportunities for deeper spiritual, personal and professional growth. My days are pretty packed with prayer time with my husband, emails, meetings, drive-by meetings, pastoral care to my teams and guests in the building where I work, more emails, meetings, a few more emails, phone calls, cooking, more quiet time with God, and then crash into my bed. What I just described is a short day. With that schedule or even worse, my long days schedule, I don’t have much time to be open to what God has for me. I need some order.

Similarly, because you now have order in your life and priorities are set, you can now RECLAIM time you once thought was lost. R is for Reclaim and Refresh. God wants us to have order so that our schedules are not running us but we are running our schedules. My roles and responsibilities have been running me for too long. Its time to Reclaim my time and get Refreshed in the Lord (Acts 13:19-21).

Order also brings DIRECTION. How many of you are list makers? I think that lists are my other love language. I am sure right now you could find at least three lists in my purse and maybe a few more in my backpack…and they probably have the same things on them. Which tells you a few things about me: One, list making isn’t helping me be more productive and efficient. And two, my lists are only communicating how much I have not completed. Ugh. Punch me in the face! Lord, I need order. I need direction.

For me, order will give me more time to serve in my calling as an ENCOURAGER. When I have competing priorities, miles of incomplete tasks on my lists, and limited to no time in my day, I miss out on one of the things I am purposed to do…and that’s to be an encourager. How much does it suck, to not have time or energy to do the one thing you are supposed to do? I need to be better. I need order.

And finally, order brings RESTORATION (I Peter 5:10). If I am Open, Reclaim my time, seek God’s Direction and not my own, Encourage others (and myself), I will be Restored.

Tomorrow is my birthday and I am so grateful that the Lord would allow me to see another year of life. Looking back on this year, I didn’t accomplish everything that I wanted to last year, but I did fulfill a lot of my goals. Would you consider joining me in the One Word movement? Make it my birthday present. Identify the person you want to become by outlining the characteristics you want to hold. Then select one word that will help focus your time and energy, direct your steps, and help you be the best you in 2018.

Click here for a prophetic word about Restoration. 

Gina Watts is a former resident of Fayette County, now living in Columbus, Ohio. She serves multiple communities as an advocate, educator, and leader. Follow Gina on Twitter @professorgmarie.

Originally published in the Herald Standard on February 4, 2018.

How Deep is Your Bench

I think by now its safe to say that you guys have read at least one story about my time as an athlete (albeit short-lived and unmemorable). Yeah. Now that I think about it, I know for sure that we’ve discussed my affection for my coaches and the great mentorship I’ve received from them. Well today I want to revisit that time and share some new insights I’ve gained as I recently read John Maxwell’s book, The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork.

The twelfth law, “The Law of the Bench,” explains how important it is for teams to have great depth. John says, “A great starter alone is simply not enough if a team wants to go to the highest level.” As I read this chapter, I considered my wonderful memories of bench-warming during my years as a basketball player. Now, let me say, that I look back on this time with affection and joy. Genuinely I do. I was never really a great athlete. Maybe I didn’t fully apply myself or maybe I just wasn’t created to be a “starter” or even the 6^th man. I am good with that. I had fun in practice. I enjoyed building friendships with my team mates. I loved creating sideline cheers with LaTosha and Mindy (they played but when they were on the bench with me, we had fun). I loved practicing against the boys during summer workouts and beating them. (True story – for real. And don’t say the boys held back. It ain’t true. I even out ran and hustled them and I sucked.) I guess what I am trying to say is that there was purpose for the bench and there was purpose in me and others sitting on it. Let me explain.

 The Law of the Bench says that “great teams have great depth.” It also says that “every human being has value, and every player on a team adds value to the team in some way.” I often joked how I only participated in sports to get the “free” stuff. But truthfully, I loved playing sports because of the discipline in brought to my life, the membership it gave me (sense of belonging somewhere), the friendships I made, the excitement of competition, and more. I sometimes wondered if I had any purpose being there. But looking back, I now know that I didn’t need to be the star player, we already had a few of those. I didn’t need to be the best guard, we had a few of those. I needed to be the best Gina I could be. The goofy, silly, loud, laughing, encouraging, cheering, dependable Gina. That’s what my team needed and that’s who I was.

Studying this law also brings light to the idea legacy building. How can your legacy last if all of the important stuffs dies with you? What are you doing to make sure that the skills, resources, and history is shared throughout your family?

This weekend, my mother hosted our first annual Lillian’s Legacy Tea Party Fundraiser. The purpose of this event is to raise funds to support the Lillian’s Legacy Scholarship Fund at the Community Foundation of Fayette County. The fund was created in 2015 during the inaugural Fayette Philanthropy Project. Named for Lillian Stout Capozza, this fund was established to provide scholarships to local servant leaders and/or award money to work that develops and honors youth leadership, career development programs, and girls making a change.

My grandmother was a true example of “leaders don’t just show the way, they go the way.” If she had not “deepened the bench,” sharing the history of her family tree, teaching her children and grandchildren to care for others, and serving at all times and in any way possible, you may not be reading this article right now. You see, the fund is called Lillian’s Legacy because Lillian built a legacy. She deepened the bench. She knew that she could do some wonderful things on her own, but what good would it have been if it only lived because of her and not beyond her.

Lets consider the Apostle Paul. You may already know this, but for those of us who don’t, Paul was a great leader in the Bible. (Actually, when I’ve done personality assessments, often times I register as Paul. I am flattered. I don’t know if he’d be. Lol.) Paul wrote letters to several groups of Christian believers. The book of Ephesians is a collection of Paul’s letters to Christians living in Ephesus. In one section, Paul reminds the leaders that they have “at their disposal immeasurable wealth and power, infinite resources sufficient to equip every believer for the spiritual fight ahead.” In the Maxwell Leadership Bible (another John Maxwell reference), John asserts that “Leaders are responsible to direct other believers to a place where they can be enriched…[and] equipped…” In short, it is our duty to deepen the bench. We are called to lead others in a way that adds value to them and to the “team,” the “family,” the “organization.” For Christians, equipping and serving with other Christians, strengthens the Kingdom of God. For your team, deepening the bench means that you understand “a great starter alone is simply not enough…to go to the highest level.” For a family, it means, sharing history and showing the way for the family to grow and continue the legacy left behind by the generation before them.

Friends, how deep is your bench? How strong is your legacy? What are you doing right now to continually improve others around you? What are you doing right now to build up your family members and sustain the legacy?

Gina Watts is a former resident of Fayette County, Pennsylvania now living in Columbus, Ohio. She serves multiple communities as an advocate, educator, and leader. Follow Gina on Twitter @professorgmarie.

Unexpected Changes

In our last chat, I shared with you some powerful lessons I learned in 2010 and how my life has been forever changed by unintentional consequences. Do you recall our conversation? Remember that I shared how I’ve been blessed by many of those unintentional consequences – like the birth of my son? In those major life experiences, I’ve found that if I rest my faith in God and have the hope of a child, I can navigate some of the roughest waters. Rough waters can carry you out into the deep waters of life; leaving you alone, tossing with the waves and turning to and fro. But when you reach out to the ultimate “lifesaver,” Jesus Christ, you find solid ground where you can live safe and secure from all harm. (See what I did there!?!) So after experiencing some unintentional consequences and navigating the rough waters of life, you find that you survived. And you also find that life as you once knew it has changed.

We’ve talked about change before, haven’t we? I’m confident of it. Change is something that I can promise happens and will happen on a regular basis in each of our lives. Whether change happens daily or rarely, change is one constant in our lives. Its inevitable.

For most of my life, change was a rarity.  My parents did a pretty good job keeping things stable and constant for my brother and I. We didn’t experience much change. We lived simple lives, participating in various sporting activities, scouting, and church choir. As we grew up and as our responsibilities increased, the rate at which we experienced change increased as well. Over my life, I’ve realized that I can organize these experiences into two different categories of change – expected change and unexpected change.  Changes like graduating high school and entering college, those were expected changes – changes I was prepared for. Unexpected changes like an employer parting ways with a major partner and thus eliminating funding for an entire department or a family member suddenly dying from an undetected issue with their heart are changes that we tend to be unprepared to deal with. Its in those unexpected life changes that we can find our strengths and more importantly can see God’s faithfulness realized. Let me explain.

Did you see the story about the Good Samaritans in the news this week? No not the story in the Bible. (Even though you should read that – Luke 10:25-37). The story about the 10 lives that were saved from a rip current at Panama City Beach in Florida – that one. Did you see or read about it? Ok – so just in case you don’t know the details, let me share a quick summary of the story here. A beach goer named Roberta Ursery’s two sons had swam out too far in the ocean and were screaming for help. She and three other family members jumped in and tried to save the kids. Unfortunately, Roberta and her family members were swept out into the ocean as well. As they screamed for help, a stranger, a good Samaritan named Jessica sprung into action. She and her husband began to petition the other beach goers for help and they formed a human chain. Realizing the tide was too strong, the group knew that they had to move with urgency and have the strength of many to fight the current.  (I am now crying as I write this in Panera Bread.)

An unexpected change happened that day. Each of those involved had no idea that they were going to be a part of a life-saving experience. None of those beach goers knew that they were going to realize God’s faithfulness through his people that day. None of them knew that they were going to be a part of something that would change their lives forever. But even though the change was unexpected, they, the life-saving beach goers, were prepared. How do I know that they were prepared? I’m glad you asked. I know that they were prepared because of how they responded to the change.

I am sure that many of them were afraid – fearful for their own safety; fearful of what would happen to those tossing and turning in the sea. Think about that scene. What would you have done? Would you have linked arms with strangers and risked your life in a rip current that already had taken 5 people out to sea? Would you have pushed through your fears and trusted in people you don’t know?

I’d like to think I am prepared and would’ve responded like Jessica and/or the “angels” who joined her on the beach that day. Truth be told, if it was my son carried out to see, I probably would’ve done what Roberta did and jumped into save him. But either way, after that moment, my life would’ve been changed. Our lives would be different after that day and they should be.

Have you lived through some expected or unexpected life changes? Sure you have. Are you still the same person you were before those changes? We’ve experienced some changes at the Herald Standard recently. These changes, expected and unexpected, have had some significant unintentional consequences for many of us. I’d like to dedicate this commentary to the staff of the Herald Standard and specifically Mark O’Keefe. Mr. O’Keefe, you have mentored me, come alongside me, and carried me through this journey of writing. Thank you for your mentorship and support. You will always be a part of my story.

Don’t forget friends - God has so much for you. I pray that for every unexpected change and unintentional consequence you encounter in life, that you will make an intentional decision to make the best of every moment.

Gina Watts is a former resident of Fayette County, now living in Columbus, Ohio. She serves multiple communities as an advocate, educator, and leader. Follow Gina on Twitter @professorgmarie.

Sometimes the most important moments are the unplanned ones

Have you ever done something so important, so critical, but in the moment, you didn’t realize the impact it would have on you and others around you? I’m sure that each of us has had at least one experience…or 30.  Over my 37+ years of life, I am sure that I have thousands of such decisions or experiences that I did not know or consider the impact that they would have on my life. Some decisions have been life changing and others have been less transformational but still worth noting.

For example, the other day, I decided to lay around a little longer than usual before going to work. Once in the car, I decided to take a different route, a little longer drive to work. Along the exact route during the typical time that I would’ve been traveling to work was a two car accident. Now some of you may think all of those events are happenstance. The fact that intentional decisions had unintentional consequences that allowed me to arrive safe and my vehicle damage free to work is unfathomable to some. Have you had an experience like this one?

If we were to measure impact by the outcomes that resulted from an unintentional or intentional decision, I’d say that the most transformational unintentional consequence that has ever happened to me is the birth of my son Christian. Its his birthday weekend, so I’d say its fitting that we are talking about his impact on my life. Lets dive in.

In 2010, I started a blog called “Growing Up Raising Christian.” Have you ever read it? No. That’s ok. I only wrote two posts. I know. I know. You’re probably saying to yourself…”Geesh. I tell ya…some people. They don’t continue or finish what they start.” All jokes aside, the idea behind the blog was for me to transparently share the ups and downs, the failures conquered, the lessons learned, the intentional decisions and unintentional consequences of my journey through life as Christian’s mom.

Its been 7 years since my attempt at that blog. I decided to revisit it and read some of my musings. I had gone through a difficult year at that time. I actually didn’t share much about raising Christian at all. At that time in my life I was starting over after a failed relationship, grieving the loss of 10 year friendship, mourning after the death of my mentor, and struggling to obey the Lord and move out of our first home. As I think back to that time period, I recall feeling so alone and overwhelmed every day. I’m not sure what kind of value I was able to add to anyone in my life at that time, especially Christian. But thanks to the blog, I found some encouraging news. I had decided to take control of my emotions and the direction of my life by sharing 5 invaluable lessons that I learned over that year. I’d like to share a few of those with you here.

Nothing compares to a child's hope. I am completely amazed at how blessed I am to have the unyielding hope of my child - he believes that anything is possible. Failure, depression, defeat are not options. I will dream, I will achieve, I will inspire. (Joel 2:28; 2 Timothy 1:5)

Looking back over my life and specifically the last 19 years, I am confident that my survival through those difficult times and my perseverance to reach my goals is completely related to two factors – my faith in God and the hope of my son.  To think, that 7 years ago, I was combatting feelings of failure, depression, and defeat. And now I live a fulfilled life, surrounded by those I love and who love me, and serve on a platform that impacts more than 15,000 leaders around the globe.

Christian always says, “Now we’ve moved from oodles of noodles to steaks.” Well, I don’t see anything wrong with oodles of noodles; but I get his point. He has journeyed with me through various life experiences, staying with nana while I attend school, sleeping under tables at board meetings, serving at community events, traveling throughout the country, making memories with family and friends, and now at the beginning stages of starting his own life.  What he doesn’t realize is that college life equals oodles of noodles. You probably only get steak when you visit mom (at least for the first few years of adulting). Insert eye roll and smirk here.

Another lesson I learned and shared in 2010 was that “one can only hope to know or understand the plans God has for us.” I am a planner. I plan each step of everyday. However, no matter how much I plan my hour, my day, my week, or my life; my plans will never compare to what God has planned for me. I will embrace the plans you have for me Lord. (Jeremiah 29:11; Ephesians 3:14-21)

I am so grateful that God’s plans are always better than mine. I am grateful that the unintentional consequences of my life have turned into beautiful blessings full of light. I am grateful to celebrate 19 years of my baby’s life, 19 years of us growing together. Not all unintentional consequences are turned into fertile soil for God to grow us. We have a choice. We can choose to rise from our mistakes, overcome our failures, and move forward into our promised purpose or we can settle for less than, struggle for little, and never fully live out our potential. God has so much for you my friends. I pray that for every unintentional consequence you encounter in life, that you will make an intentional decision to make the best of every moment.

Happy Birthday Christian! I love you.

Gina Watts is a former resident of Fayette County, now living in Columbus, Ohio. She serves multiple communities as an advocate, educator, and leader. Follow Gina on Twitter @professorgmarie.

I love Giraffes!

Giraffes – I love Giraffes. Giraffes are my favorite animal. My love for giraffes started when I was pretty young. My mom purchased two ornaments for our Christmas tree. One was a wooden letter G for Gina and the other was a letter M for Michael. For the G, the artist drew a giraffe to adorn the letter. For the M, the artist drew a monkey. So Gina the Giraffe became a thing, not a big thing, but a thing nonetheless. And the placement of those ornaments became a thing too. Ornament placement was critical, as it marked which side of the tree our gifts were on. Beyond gift labeling, the ornament was just that, an ornament. As soon as the festivities are over, the ornament goes back into storage until the next year. It, the ornament, just has that one sole purpose in life, to mark the side of the tree where Gina’s presents will be. Its funny though, the giraffe on the ornament has a much deeper meaning. And although its significance wasn’t revealed to me until I was an adult, its purpose will remain with me throughout the rest of my life. 

I remember it just like it was yesterday. Time out. Why do people say that? Is that statement really relevant anymore? I mean, we humans receive information so fast and experience life at speeds our ancestors would’ve never considered possible, do we even remember something from 5 minutes ago? Ok. Just wondering. Time in. So…I remember it just like it was 3 minutes ago. I was sitting in Pitt’s student union attending an event hosted by my mentor, Tracy Soska. Tracy is a social worker extraordinaire. He has been honored by so many people and organizations because he is fully committed to fighting against injustice, advocating for the less fortunate and equipping today and tomorrow’s leaders with the tools they need to be the change in their communities. During my graduate education, I was very blessed to learn from him. And now I continue to be blessed as I count him a dear friend. As a part of my internship with Tracy, I was responsible for assisting him with events like this one. The keynote speaker was from a sister (as in located in Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh) university. I don’t recall her name nor do I recall all of her speech (I said, “I remember it just like it was 3 minutes ago.” I don’t remember all that happened 3 minutes ago.), but I will never forget her love for giraffes and how she so eloquently explained this love. The speaker said something to the effect of: Giraffes have long necks that allow them to reach higher and see farther. But their bodies, their bodies are still close to the ground. Their shape is the perfect metaphor for how we should live life. We should reach higher, see farther, and remain connected.”

I remember taking notes during the keynote speech and feeling like I couldn’t take notes fast enough. I wanted to capture the essence of everything she was saying.  Her simple and short discussion of giraffes was imprinted on my heart forever. I’ve never forgot it. I decided to adopt it. And now I share it.

So why am I so in love with this description of giraffes? Giraffes reach higher and see farther while remaining connected. What better metaphor for how we should live our lives and use what we’ve been given to serve. Lets dig in.

Now I’m sure that a giraffe’s life is not all perfect. Its not like they are unicorns who poop rainbows and dance in fields with butterflies. I mean, get real people. Lets consider April and her months of labor to have that baby. I couldn’t sit and watch that. Not because I get grossed out or anything…no. Its because I have responsibilities and a life. I love giraffes and all, but not enough to stop the world for it. Geez.

But even in their imperfect lives with no rainbow poop and long labors, giraffes are beautiful creates with so much to give the world. And like the Giraffe, you’ve been given access to a bird’s eye view of life. You have been equipped with tools and resources to be uniquely you, serving the world in ways no one else can. Now what are you going to do with it? What if the giraffe never used its neck the way God intended? What if the giraffe had a long neck but only ever bent down to eat food – never reaching towards the heavens for nourishment? What if the giraffe never used its long neck and line of sight to protect its young? Or to see more food? Or to go farther? Or to reach higher? What if?

What is it that you have that you’ve neglected to use? What skills and talents did God place in you that you have yet to use? What if you used them? What if you saw farther? What if you reached higher? What if?

I hope today’s commentary challenged you. I pray blessings for you as you step out in faith to reach higher, see farther, and remain grounded. God has mighty plans for you. He’s already given you all you need to succeed. You just need to use what He gave you. (Luke 17:21 and 2 Peter 1:3) Until next time. Gina the Giraffe out!

Gina Watts is a former resident of Fayette County, now living in Columbus, Ohio. She serves multiple communities as an advocate, educator, and leader. Follow Gina on Twitter @professorgmarie.

The Perfect Fit

How many of you like to shop? It could be that you enjoy shopping for groceries, shopping for clothes, shopping for anything. My husband is a shopper. He is a smart shopper. Clearance is his best friend. He’s mine best friend too. That Clearance often surprises us with some amazing gifts. Like the other day, he gave us golf pants that usually retail for $50+ for only $9.00. We all want friends like that, don’t we?

Unlike my husband though, I am not a shopper. Not. At. All. I shop to purchase things that I need or want for myself or loved ones. I don’t shop for the joy of shopping. Its amazing to me that I not only married a shopper, I raised one. Yeah – Christian is a shopper too. Now remember, the raising came before the marrying. So that don’t even make sense. For as long as I can remember, I’ve loathed the shopping experience. I was my paternal grandmother’s oldest grandchild and for a long time, her only granddaughter. She loved to buy me dresses and take me shopping. Punch me in the face. For one, I wasn’t really feeling wearing dresses. I wore dresses every day to school (St. John the Evangelist) and was sure to wear boys’ basketball shorts underneath. That’s how Julie V. and I got down. Shorts under our dresses and penny loafers on our feet. Back to grandma. And for two, I hated trying on clothes. To this day, the fitting room is the devil. I can barely take putting on clothes to see if they fit. Intellectually, I know that it makes sense to try out something before you buy it to make sure that it is exactly what you want. Trying it out prevents you from an extra step of returning it, exchanging it for a different size, and so on. I know. I get it. But the 5 year old in me just dreads that room. The fitting room, oh what a terrible creation.

Last week, I was out and about with the husband and were, you guessed it, shopping. As we were window shopping (which I seriously believe is a cruel and unusual punishment used to break people) we came upon a “Fathers’ Day” section in the store. We both looked at each other, gave a side-eyed smirk and said, “this is sad.” It was the most pitiful display of gifts and cards that we’d ever seen for a holiday. Eric said, “Y’all [women/mothers] get big beautiful displays and we get this. Ridiculous.” I had to giggle because it was true. That display was so sad and did not reflect a celebration of fathers. Not one bit. It was weird for me to think that I never noticed that before. I’m sure that every year, stores all over the country display less than appealing, seemingly left-over items for Fathers’ Day. What does that say about how we see or value our fathers?

Statistics show that a disproportionate number of custodial single parents are women with only 17% being men. Now this does not mean that the other 83% of single fathers and 24 million married fathers have limited or no engagement in their child’s life. No, not at all.  But what it does do is create a “market” for the economic world to attend to. Women as head of households and mothers as the most influential parent in a child’s life, dictates who gets the most attention in the stores. (National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse, 2013). But why should statistics dictate how we honor our fathers?

I think because I like being a gift giver, I never really noticed the limited energy stores give to dads and how much fathers are overlooked during this special day. Even though my own dad never wants anything and is the most difficult person to shop for ever in life, I still put a lot of energy into his gift(s). I’m sure you do the same. And the great thing about being the gift giver, I don’t have to try on anything! I don’t have to see if it fits me; but I do make sure that it fits him. Fit. Yeah – just like I fit him and he fits me.

I, his first born. He, my only dad. And somehow, even though we didn’t get to “try on” each other to make sure we “fit,” we are a perfect match. I have his sarcasm, his feet and his salt and pepper hair (even though his is a little more salty now than before – ha ha). He tolerates my mouth and counters me with “now listen Gina, listen” every time I am ready to blow like Mount Vesuvius. I also have his mole, a particular mole that is in the same spot on me and my brother. Its pretty cool and weird that we all share that. We also both had his gap too. A distinct feature that looks great on him; Michael and I on the other hand, just didn’t fair too well with that feature (thanks for fixing that Dr. Ruby). Yeah. We fit. And we didn’t even have to try each other out first.

You know that reminds me a lot of my relationship with God. You know…God, our Father. He sent his son, Jesus Christ to the earth to die for our sins. He did that before He even knew if we were “fit” for His kingdom. And truth be told, we will never be fit by our own standards. We are only fit because of Christ’s blood shed for us, for the redemption of our sins. Wow! What a gift!?!

I am blessed to have my father here to celebrate for Fathers’ Day. And I plan to do my best to honor him. You have some time left before the day arrives. So be sure to put some effort in and honor your dad or the dads in your life this year. Happy early Fathers’ Day dad, Eric, Michael, Uncle Joe, Uncle Raymond, Uncle Bobby, Pastor Winfrey and all my cousins. I love you guys. Proverbs 20:7

Gina Watts is a former resident of Fayette County, now living in Columbus, Ohio. She serves multiple communities as an advocate, educator, and leader. Follow Gina on Twitter @professorgmarie.

Sometimes...life just sucks

This week has been a week full of emotions and a whole lot of feels. Excitement. Joy. Hope. Anxiety. Peace. Despair. Frustration. Heartache. Grief. Fear. Love. Typically, I’d say that I experience most of the emotions and feelings in a giving week; but rarely is it all of them. I am a feeler. This week I was feeling everything. From the excitement and joy I had at the Hall and Oates concert featuring Tears for Fears and every middle aged rhythmless nation (see what I did there – nod to Janet Jackson) person in Columbus to the despair and heartache I feel for the family downstairs in the chapel, mourning the loss of their sixteen year old who died from a suicide – this has been quite an eventful week.

What do you say to a family of a loved one who left this earth by their own doing? What can you do to let them know that you are there for them? To walk with them? To love on them? To grieve with them? I don’t know the answer my friends. I genuinely don’t. I’ve experienced a similar loss before. Although the life lost was not a family member, I was close enough to the family to sit in grief with them and we remain close today. Suicide is hard. A hole is left in the spot they once filled. Often times, unanswered questions remain. And even more often, the guilt in the form of the never-ending, repeating pattern of questions, asking “what could I have done to prevent this?” plays over and over again in the minds of those left behind. Suicide is hard.

If this article is too difficult for you to read today, I understand. This is a very sensitive topic. Its painful. Its not pretty. There are no ways to make this fun or silly. I believe that it would be disrespectful and potentially dangerous for me to attempt to address such a layered and difficult topic in 5000 words or less. So I won’t. But I will be transparent with you, sharing my feelings and then ask you to pray with me for the family left behind and grieving right now.  

Lets pray together.

Dear Gracious and Heavenly Father, we come humbly before you Lord. Holy Spirit come; let your presence overwhelm us today. We submit our hearts to you God. We ask for forgiveness of our sins and clear our minds and hearts of anything that is not of You, Lord. Today, we want to lift up the family left behind. Their hearts are broken Lord. Their pain is unimaginable. You know what they need Lord. Let them feel your presence. Comfort them Father. Grant them your peace that surpasses all understanding.

May they find hope in your promises for tomorrow. May their grief not overwhelm them. May your light shine down on them. May they be reminded of good times with their loved one. May they find rest in your love. May their hearts be mended energized by the love of family and friends around them.

We know that life is not easy and that you never promised an easy path. But your word does say that you are close to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18-19). We thank you for your promises Lord. Equip us to be the prayer warriors and supporters that you’ve called us to be for those left behind. We love you and commit our prayer to you today.

Amen.

Today’s article is a short one. Sometimes we don’t need a lot of words to communicate how we feel or explain what we are going through. Sometimes we just need prayer. Sometimes we just need to tell people life sucks right now. And sometimes we just need people to listen and pray with us.  If you find yourself in a position to be a support for someone, try praying first. Pray for yourself. Pray with them. Pray for them. You don’t have to have the “right” words or fear not being able to do the “right” things. God hears your heart and is with you. Talk to him. Listen for him. Show his love in this world. Remind those in your care, in your life, that they are loved. He can use you in mighty ways my friends. Please let him.

Gina Watts is a former resident of Fayette County, now living in Columbus, Ohio. She serves multiple communities as an advocate, educator, and leader. Follow Gina on Twitter @professorgmarie.

Thank You Mom!

Its weird how things affect you. For example, moving away from my hometown 9 months ago continues to give me new perspective and moments to pause. Yes. Moments to pause and consider all that has changed in the last few years and how much this change has changed and challenged me.

With each holiday that passes, I am often reminded of my move. I am reminded of how I no longer have quick physical access to my family. And with Christian away at college this realization is even more evident. I am reminded that I can’t just meet Ron and Ryan or Laura for a Meeting of the Minds Power Breakfast at Eat N Park. I am reminded that I can't just run over to Jamie’s house for a jewelry party with Toni, Julie, and Jamie (Chill. There are two Jamies.) I am reminded that I can’t just call my dad for…for…a lot. Ha. I am reminded that I can’t just run to my mom’s for some sugar, for some detergent, for some hugs. I am often reminded how much life has changed.

 I never thought that I was one who took things for granted. Honestly, I’d consider myself pretty appreciative. In various areas of my life, I take special attention and time to acknowledge the sacrifice, time, talent, and resources it takes to complete a job, buy and wrap a gift, show up at an event, and so on. But you know what I didn’t realize? I didn’t know how much harder it could be to show that appreciation to family and friends when proximity changes. I took for granted that I would always have access to those who mean so much to me. Have you ever taken your situation or the people around you for granted?

To take for granted is to use, accept or treat in a careless or indifferent manner. Man. That sucks. To treat someone in a careless or an indifferent manner? Is that you? Do you do that?  I don’t know that I take people for granted. Or at least I don’t mean to. But I do think I took my situation for granted. And although I am wonderfully blessed, joyfully married, super proud of my son’s success, and boldly pursing my goals and dreams, I never considered how much I would miss my mom.

You know my mom. I write about her often. She is pretty great. When I think about her, I realize just how blessed I’ve been to have a mom like her. Imagine every morning waking up to, “Gina Marie, I love thee.” She sang to my brother and I every morning to wake us up and get us ready for school. At the time I didn’t know the value of that daily chore. I took it for granted. I took for granted that my mom created a song for us and was sure to be positive and encouraging each morning. Did your mom do that?

In the summer, my brother and I were always running around the neighborhood playing with our friends. And each day, we asked our mom if one of our friends could come to dinner (typically Holly and Michael Allison – yes you have to say his whole name). Most of the time, she would have us set another seat at the table. I took that it for granted that my mom would say yes and allow us to have our friends over for dinner. I didn’t know until I was an adult that often times she just parceled out the food so that everyone had just enough, enough that we didn’t know that there wasn’t really a lot to eat. I took it for granted.

Traveling to our cousin’s house in New Jersey each summer or to our family friend Ms. Gin’s house in Ohio was always a treat. Every few years, we would save up to go on a major trip like a cruise, California, or Florida. And in between those trips, we always went to the zoo, Idlewild, Kennywood, and any other local attraction you can think of. We were truly blessed. We made a lot of memories. I took for granted that every kid got to travel. I took for granted that learning about other people, experiencing new foods, and traveling to different (and sometimes the same) places was not the norm for many kids I knew.

Now looking back, those things that my mom put so much energy into doing daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly, shaped who I am today. I love mornings. I sing often. I am signing Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars as I type this article. I am quick to share my last and break bread with friends. I honor my neighbors in my new hood and spend time with them. I absolutely love to travel and make memories.

Thanks mom for your sacrifice, love, and intentionality. You helped to make me who I am. Please know that although in the moment and maybe even as I was growing up I took much of what you did for granted, I love and appreciate you so much. I am so grateful that I get to celebrate you while you are still here on earth. I plan to give you your flowers now and as often as I can.

Much love to all you moms and like-a-moms out there. You are appreciated. We don’t mean to take your awesomeness for granted. Its just that sometimes you make the hard things look so effortless that we forgot you have a cape on underneath that moo-moo. 

Paul is a Great Name of a Mentor

Have you ever had an experience that is nearly inexplicable? You know, when something has happened that you can’t find the words to say or emotions to express your feelings about the experience – have you ever had one of those experiences? This week has been one of those weeks for me. I am going to try to put into words the emotions I feel about witnessing transformation happen in the lives of more than 500,000 youth all across the world.

 

On December 1, 2016, I connected with my friend and mentor, Paul Martinelli to discuss his idea for equipping members of the John Maxwell Team with the skills and tools they need to serve young people. Paul had reached out to me, his go-to leader for all things youth (his words, not mine), to pitch his idea and gain my buy-in to help lead this initiative. The great thing and sometimes the scary thing about my meetings with Paul, is that he gives me an idea, seeks my wisdom and experience of how to reach the goal, and then leaves it up to me. For many of you, you might say that you’d love to have your boss or mentor lead you that way – give you the reigns and allow you to take full control of a project or at the very least your daily tasks. For me though, I am acutely aware of my strengths and I am also just as aware of my weaknesses. Knowing Paul, I knew that this task was not a small one.

After any conversation with Paul, I feel like Wonder Woman. I feel empowered, equipped, and completely confident that I can do whatever it is he is asking of me. Its great! I am so grateful for him. And I wish the same experience for each of you. Finding a true mentor, someone who can speak to strengths, help you overcome your weaknesses, and lead you to take advantage of opportunities can be truly life-changing. The man is truly a motivator and one of the best business men I know. He is the President of the John Maxwell Team, the leader of the fastest growing professional coaching, training, and speaking organization in the world. There are times when I try to imagine what his days are like and then I quickly find myself overwhelmed just thinking about what he needs to do to be so successful, so attentive, so organized, so Paul.

 

Fortunately, I have the love and support of my family to keep me balanced. I feel you laughing. Yes. I transitioned from talking about my amazing motivator and how he makes me feel invincible to talking about how my family keeps me real. Gina can’t do everything. I used to think I could. Then I realized that I was doing a lot at a high cost. I wasn’t doing everything at the highest level of efficiency or effectiveness. I was poorly leading because I was super serving. Not good. Thank God for my family, my husband in particular. He grounds me. He reminds me, without crushing dreams and while being supportive of my goals, he reminds me to have balance.

 

So what do you when you want to put on your cape and have balance in your life? You pray. You plan. You re-Produce. I went to Eric (my husband) with Paul’s goal. Even before I told him about the outcome of the call, he already knew I was going to be super hyped. First thing was first, we prayed. We asked God for guidance and for the Holy Spirit to be present with us as we talked. We prayed for Paul and the team. We prayed for revelation as to what to do and how to serve. We then planned ways that I could help the company meet the goal of organizing an international youth leadership week, where John Maxwell team members would host free events for young people in multiple countries around the world.  It was very clear that this job was a big one. I knew and Eric knew, that God had blessed this opportunity. We were all in. It was time to get to work.

 Pray. Plan. Produce. Re-Produce.

Over the next month I consulted with our marketing and administrative team members. I felt good about our progress. We were set to launch the Global Youth Initiative on January 7^th. As we were finalizing the script for our teleconference announcement, we settled on and I hesitantly agreed to a goal of serving 250,000 youth during the week of April 24-April 30, 2017. Hesitantly. Did you catch that? I was no longer, “all in.” I was more like, “mostly in and I’m scared that we might not reach this goal.” How was I going to help make this happen?  What are they thinking? We don’t even know if the team members would believe in this project. Would they get behind it? Would they want to serve youth? Would they do it for free? What am I doing? This is going to fail. Paul is never going to trust me again.

 

Those phrases and questions were everything that I was telling myself over and over again. I couldn’t shake it. It was time for the live call to launch the first ever John Maxwell Team Global Youth Initiative. Paul is on the line hosting our YouthMAX Ambassador Nick Vujicic and me. Then the scariest thing happens. Paul says, “Team – we are going to host 500,000 youth in countries across the world.” I seriously dropped the phone and almost peed myself. He doubled the freaking number.

 

Remember how I said Paul is the greatest motivator and the smartest businesses man, I’ve ever known? Remember that? Well, he is. This week, we hosted more than (read that again) 500,000 youth at 667 sites in more than 52 countries around the world. Every day, I’ve received stories and messages of hope from kids around the world. My fellow team members have led events in Myanmar, Saudia Arabia, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, California, Pennsylvania, Texas, Aruba, and more. Lives have been changed. Communities have been changed. I am so grateful that God allowed me to be a part of something so big. I am even more grateful that he recognized my Timothy moment. He gave me a Paul to remind me that He “prepared me for this…prayers are coming together now so that I will do this well, fearless in my struggle, keeping a firm grip on my faith and myself.” 1 Timothy 1:18-19 MSG.

 

Paul Martinelli and Gina Watts

Gina Watts is a former resident of Fayette County, now living in Columbus, Ohio. She serves multiple communities as an advocate, educator, and leader. Follow Gina on Twitter @professorgmarie.

Speechless

By now you know that I love birthdays, I freak out about Christmas and that my most favorite holiday ever is Easter. You knew that right!?! I mean, I tell you guys almost everything and I am pretty sure that each year, I remind you how much I love Easter.

There are just simply no words that can ever fully describe my gratitude for the sacrifice Christ made on the cross. Only emotions can begin to communicate how I feel about the greatest gift I’ve ever received. Believe it or not, there are times when I am completely speechless. One of those times is at Easter. But just because I can’t find the words, doesn’t mean that I’m not saying much. Let me explain.

Have you ever watched a movie without sound? Or maybe watched a movie in a language that is foreign to you? I love movies (but you knew that already). Often times I find myself relaxing by watching one of my favorite series on Netflix – Celia. Celia is the biographical story of Cuban artist Celia Cruz.  About 98% of the dialogue in the series is in Spanish. Now, I am often mistaken for having Spanish descent; but Gina has not taken and/or retained any Spanish since senior year in Senora Abbott’s Spanish class at Laurel Highlands High School. (Sorry Senora – Genoveva just didn’t apply what she learned.) But even though I can’t understand most of the dialogue and I usually don’t use subtitles, I completely know what is going on in the story. 

How do I know whats going when I watch the show? Easy - context clues. Culturally, most people of Spanish-speaking background use much more than words to communicate. (I think this is true of a lot of other cultures as well. I’m part Italian. Just sayin.) Body movements and physically expressed emotions help me to understand what is happening in a given scene. The setting of the scene – where the conversations occur – tell me a lot about what is happening in the scene. Proximity or the space between two people or the lack thereof when they are talking to each other that tells me a lot about what is going on in a scene. Words have purpose. But words are not all that we have to say how we feel.

Seth Godin, best-selling author, speaker, and entrepreneur, recently shared this in his blog. “If you watch a well-directed film with the sound turned off, you'll get a lot out of it. It's worth remembering that we lived in tribes for millennia, long before we learned how to speak. Emotional connection is our default. We only added words and symbolic logic much later. There are a few places where all that matters is the words. “

After reading Seth’s blog post, I thought about his words for some time. I considered the times when I find myself speechless or when language is a barrier (like when I am speaking with friends from around the world or watching Celia and 3% - another great non-English show on Netflix). I also thought about my mild dyslexia and issues with comprehension. I thought about how those barriers made reading and writing difficult. I thought about how words on a page were just that, words on a page. I thought about when I was younger and how reading was a chore and not a blessing. I thought about how I didn’t want to read because I didn’t understand. I thought about how free I feel now that I don’t only rely on words. 

How much do you rely on words to communicate? To communicate your joy? To communicate your pain? To communicate your disappointment? To communicate your excitement? To communicate your gratitude? How much do you rely on words? I have found that when I don’t have words, my actions and observing others’ actions are all I need to communicate how I feel.

Two thousand years ago, Christ didn’t share many words as his life came to an end. From the time he was taken into custody, set out before the people by Pontius Pilate so that he may be pardoned, carried his cross to where he would be crucified, and then as he hang on the cross, Jesus Christ said very few words. Why? Because no words were needed. His actions spoke louder than anything then and anything yet to come. His act of sacrifice has said more to you than any conversation you’ve ever had, any book you’ve ever read, any movie you’ve ever watched, and any sermon you’ve ever heard.

I am speechless. When I think of God sending his son to die for me; when I think of who Jesus Christ is; when I think of the power of the Holy Spirit, I can only tearfully say thank you.

Exercising my other senses and challenging myself to go deeper, beyond the surface of words has helped me to be a better communicator. Talk is cheap my friends. Actions always speak louder. What do your actions say about who you are? Do your actions reflect your gratitude for the sacrifice made for you? Jesus did a whole lot and didn’t say much. What is your life saying about you?

Happy Easter my friends. Give thanks to Christ for his sacrifice. Go deeper and use all of your senses and abilities to show gratitude today. Read Luke 23:34 and 43; John 19:26-27; Matthew 27:46; John 19:28 and 30; and Luke 23:46.

Gina Watts is a former resident of Fayette County, now living in Columbus, Ohio. She serves multiple communities as an advocate, educator, and leader. Follow Gina on Twitter @professorgmarie.