see what I mean?

The Law of Influence, week 2

"The very essence of all power to influence lies in getting the other person to participate."

in reference to: Numbers 13-72 (the spies going to Cannan to scope out the promise land, coming home and Joshua with Caleb trying to convince God's people to go claim it despite the fear dripping from the other spies reports)

"..Joshua and Caleb stood before the children of Israel and tried to get them to enter the promised land, I doubt the two men really understood all that was at stake"

"...for leaders, obedience isn't enough. If they can't take others on the trip, they fail their God-given mission."

"Influencers who lead because they desire to advance their own agendas manipulate the people for their own gain. That's what the other ten spies did. They were afraid, and they used their influence to create fear in the people of Israel. They lied to the people.....On the other hand, Joshua and Caleb desired to motivate the people to do what was right for the benefit of everyone. That is always the agenda of a great leader."

"A leader's influence must be greater than the people's resistance"

"Not only was Joshua right, but he also tried to model right living. As a result, he consistently lived beyond his ability as a leader."

"God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible - what a pity that we plan only the things we can do by ourselves" - A. W. Tozer

"When a leader places family first, future generation will be blessed"

"...it began at home..." (for Joshua, Joshua 24:14-18...as for me and my house....)

"Joshua's leadership of his family was greater than his leadership of the country...he gained credibility to lead the entire house of Israel"

"Leadership impact increases as influence increases"

now my thoughts on all that:

I am a mother, which means I am in a leadership role 24/7.

There is no down time in this category.

That fact weighs heavy on my heart, as it should and I hope always will.

To me, every word of every one of those quotes has to do with mothering.

I have no positive impact on my children without the right influence.

the right kind of influence is gained.

It is trust.

It takes time.

My kids trust me, I have impact on them.

They don't trust me, I don't impact them (positively!).

There are many times, as a mother, that the situation at hand feels way outside my ability to handle, outside my ability as a leader, but this is where I get to see God's hand at work in my kids lives. His influence on them, not using me (or using my mistakes for His good, however you want to look at that)

They see me trusting God, not pushing them to perfection, but trusting that they are His and their trust in me grows, making the influence I have on them as a leader, greater.

Which only humbles me even further because the more influence I have, the more opportunity I have to influence incorrectly.

But again, God is for my kids....who, even me, can be against them?

see what I mean?

this 'leadership stuff' I think was meant for business professionals and church leaders but really, there are no better parenting materials!

(quotes from the book The 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader's Day by John C. Maxwell

it's taking me about 5 min's a day to go through each reading, again, it was meant for moms ;-)