As I sit at the dawn of a new year, I am aware that I have two choices.  I can see opportunity or obstacle.  I realize that I’m naturally wired to see opportunity.  Yes, I’m a glass is half full kind of gal.  But, I do believe that facing a new year requires self-leadership to focus on the opportunities God is creating in the messy, unresolved baggage I carry from 2016 into 2017.

"It's getting harder and harder for me to give," I confessed to myself. Clayton and I sat across the table from a couple who needed a listening ear. We listened while they talked. We comforted them through their struggles and tears. I was obeying my calling to ministry, but my inner soul wished I could be the one talking and crying.

It was in this moment I realized how dry and empty my own soul felt. I'd just become a mother, and it was proving harder than I thought. Because I didn't love my new calling, I was carrying far too much shame and guilt. I was desperate for help myself. Still, I sat listening and praying to the only One who could help these people because I felt completely incapable.