"Being Uniquely You" by Jenni Catron *Blog Party!!*

Being Uniquely You by Jenni Catron

 
Today as I was zipping from one appointment to another, the noise of the radio DJs caught my attention for a few minutes. The local top 40 station was sharing their 5 tips on what women need to do to "worship themselves". And while that phrase alone was enough for me to tune out, I was intrigued to hear what they had to say. Their point was that women give all our time and energy to every other relationship and responsibility in our lives and we're not taking time for ourselves.


 
Sound familiar?


 
And as they went on to share a handful of tips that seemed pretty shallow and selfish, I realized that they are only trying to help fill the same gaping hole that so many of the rest of us struggling with.


 
"Over the last fifty years women have secured for themselves greater opportunity, greater achievement, greater influence, and more money.  But over the same time period, they have become less happy, more anxious, more stressed, and, in ever increasing numbers, they are medicating themselves for it."

~From Find Your Strongest Life by Marcus Buckingham

 
That statement is heartbreaking to me.  It's heartbreaking because I really believe it's true.  I've begun to see this in my own life.  Our opportunities have increased rapidly and we're adding pressure, responsibility and activities daily, but we're not taking the pressure off in other areas.  We're just piling more onto our already overflowing lives.


 
One of my greatest burdens for women is helping us truly identify and understand who God has made us to be and to embrace that wholeheartedly.


 
I believe it's so critical that we do the tough work of understanding ourselves and how we are uniquely wired.  As women in particular we have a tendency to allow a lot of other things in our lives to define us and we lose sight of our God-given gifts, talents and abilities. 


 
One of my favorite verses is a constant reminder of my need to evaluate who God is calling me to be:


 
Galatians 6:4-5 (The Message)

"Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that.  Don't be impressed with yourself.  Don't compare yourself with others.  Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life."


   
How has God uniquely wired you?


 
What are your strengths and gifts?


 
What does it look like for you to worship Him through understanding who He has made you to be?


 
I'm praying that God would awaken you to the beautiful, uniquely gifted individual that He has created you to be!

jenni catron

Jenni Catron serves as the Executive Director of Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN where she leads a staff of 30 at four campuses. She loves a fabulous cup of tea, great books, learning the game of tennis and hanging out with her husband and border collie. Jenni's passion is to lead well and to inspire, equip and encourage other women to do the same. That passion drove Jenni to start the women's leadership community, Cultivate Her. Jenni blogs at www.jennicatron.tv and www.cultivateher.com.

Personal note: I met Jenni through Jeff Henderson, Campus Pastor at Buckhead Church here in Atlanta. When I told him of my desire to meet and learn from other women in leadership, Jenni's name came right to his mind. I'm thrilled that he connected the two of us. We've gotten to know one another little by little as our schedules have allowed, and I am looking forward to learning more from her as time goes by. I know you'll want to keep your eye on this amazing woman in the days to come! ~Shelley

  Jenni Catron, Shelley Hendrix, and Ashley Warren (Jenni's assistant) 

on the set of "Atlanta Live!"

Connect with Jenni!

 

Email: jenni@crosspoint.tv
Blog: jennicatron.tv
Twitter: twitter.com/jennicatron

What did you want to be...

I had the treat this past Wednesday morning to get an inside view of what takes place at a Buckhead Church staff meeting. Every time I have an opportunity to interact with any of the Buckhead staff, I am energized and affirmed--they truly are gifted and gracious leaders. They recognize the role of a leader is not to rule, but to empower. It was really an honor to be given the opportunity to come hang out with them for a few minutes this week.

My friend, Jenni Catron, was invited to be the guest speaker and the topic she spoke on was becoming "Confident in Your Calling."Jenni is an incredibly gifted leader. She serves as Executive Director for Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN under the dynamic leadership of Pete Wilson. (You can read a blog post about Pete and his book, "Plan B" here.) Jenni oversees and develops the staff and she also leads a ministry called "Cultivate Her" which is all about cultivating and developing female leaders. I. Love. This. Chick! I am still just getting to know her, and each time I have a chance to interact with her, I am challenged and encouraged in my own life and ministry.

Jenni Catron, Shelley Hendrix, Ashley Warren (Jenni's assistant) 

Jenni used one of my favorite passages of Scripture to open and end the topic:

Galatians 6:4-5 (The Message)

"Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life." 

In this passage, what words stand out to you the most? I suggest reading it again, allowing your eyes to 'highlight' key words. This one verse is just chock-full of great truth!!

Jenni asked us all, "When you were about 4 or 5 years old, what did you want to be when you were all grown up?" And she got us thinking about the difference between childhood fantasy, and God's true dreams/ callings on our lives. It's an interesting walk down Memory Lane to see how God has taken dreams of our childhood and used many different sources (i.e. our experiences, family systems, circumstances, culture, etc) to develop our relationship with Him and even the call He has placed on our lives.

When I was four, I wanted to be a mommy when I grew up. When I was 14, I wanted to be a lawyer who would one day go into politics and then become the President of the United States...that phase didn't last long. Then I thought about marketing, teaching, translating, etc. And, as I now see who I am (in Christ) and the work I have been given, it's really amazing to see how the God of the Universe has taken so many bits and pieces of my life's story and has woven them into who I am today and what I do. It's also pretty exciting to see a glimpse into what He has in store.

What about you? What did you want to 'be' and how close is that to what you're experiencing today? Do tell! :-)

I especially want to hear from the ladies... if you're in leadership, were your leadership gifts affirmed as you were growing up? If so, how? If not, how has that impacted you?