This is the first post in a three-part series about discouragement. I’m taking you on my journey of how I’ve moved past finding my worth in my work, and what the gift of discouragement can teach us. The other day, I went to brunch with two of my good friends, Jan and Jennifer. It made […]
achieving
The three types of goal setters
The excitement of my Nana and Granddad visiting from Chicago for Christmas was more than this third-grade girl could take back in 1985. Toward the end of their stay, my Nana made fudge. I couldn’t resist that chocolatey, creamy confection. But the next day, I was sick as a dog. For decades, I equated my […]
How I put task ahead of people even when I shouldn’t
It’s easy to be overcome by the holiday task list. Here are four tips that may not shorten your checklist’s length, but may give you longer vision. As an Achiever, parent, and Christian, I have read my fair share of parenting books, which extol the virtues of having a family devotional, so naturally, I read […]
Why Rule-Following Achievers Actually Hate Following Rules
What my daughter taught me about rules and why I have a love-hate relationship with them. One year, our daughter came home from school saying that her teacher had a lot of rules. She told me that there were four rules for how to stand in line and that, “We have to look at our […]
How Comparison Leads to Shame, Fear, and a Faulty View of God
Today I went on a run/walk, and while I was walking, I passed a man in his 60s… running. I thought, Hey I ran a 1/2 marathon a few years ago and here I am walking like a schmuck. For crying out loud, this grandpa is running. I should be running too. I tell that […]
What I’m Learning about Emotions and Vulnerability
Achievers are notorious for sacrificing their emotions on the altar of performance and productivity. Can we agree that Jesus has a better way for us? Kerri Strug is at the end of the vault runway at the Olympic Games in July 1996. Her first attempt has left her with an injured ankle. She runs toward […]
A Prayer for the Achiever
This is a prayer for all of us who are Achievers, but who want to Go Rogue. This is a prayer for those of us who want to cease working for worth and recognition, who want to get off the treadmill of comparison and competition, and who want to listen to Jesus, accept His love […]
What Every Achiever Should Ask Herself
I was born an Achiever, someone who needs outside approval that can only come from an inside source, my Jesus. Sadly, I believed that my worth is found in what I do, not in whose I am. You probably remember this translated itself into my crazy goal of losing baby weight with my second born. […]
To those who want to stop striving, but don’t know how
My dad is an Olympic-lover, which means that if the Olympics were on, we were watching. (Where are all my ’80s friends that remember life without a DVR?) After watching the 1984 Summer Olympics, I went to our front yard and pretended that the curb was a balance beam. In my mind, I was Mary […]
An Achiever Goes Rogue
My name is Jill, and I am a first-time blogger and long-time reader of blogs. I’m a native Texan, an Aggie, wife of one, mother of two, sometimes runner – sometimes baker – never crafter, lover of sports, and follower of Jesus. (Not necessarily in this order, but you get the point.) The bottom line […]