Plus (Three)

Head and Heart

A brief Lenten thought about how the Scripture is revealing me to myself:

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Clifton StrengthsFinder (both excellent tools we use with our FLI students) heartily agree upon this: I am prone to getting stuck inside my own head.

I think. A lot.

I used to suffer from "analysis paralysis," because I would think myself into a corner and then not be able to do anything. That's not really a problem any more (thank goodness!), but one thing I do still struggle with is the emotional aspect of my faith. I have a hard time feeling God's love for me. (Even though I know and believe that God loves me.)

Reading

Maybe it's because I recently lamented the unfortunate loss of my Little House on the Prairie books. And maybe it's because I've been having an online conversation about books with one of my former students (who now has three kids to read aloud to). At any rate, I have been having fun thinking about books to read aloud to children.

Here are three lists with lots of great ideas:

http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000.html

http://www.worldmag.com/articles/12466

http://www.worldmag.com/articles/12468

I was such a reader when I was a kid. I have great memories of my dad reading aloud to me. I used to get in trouble for reading in school when I was supposed to be doing math or social studies or something. Either Josh or I read with Lorien every night. My favorite right now is Guess How Much I Love You. Such a sweet book with beautiful illustrations! I can't wait until we are into chapter books.

What were your favorite books as a child?

Constructive Criticism

Constructive criticism has been one of the biggest catalysts for growth in my life. Yes, I admit that when someone shares a thoughtful critique, my initial reaction is often defensive. But I have worked really hard to stuff that reaction so that I can give the suggestion some respectful consideration. As a result, I've learned some really important things.

However...

While constructive criticism is good, it is hard to take in large doses. I probably should have recognized that before I asked for feedback from 2500 people. :)

Last week and this week, I have been reading through hundreds of survey responses from Focus Leadership Institute alumni. Some of them give feedback on the general goals of the alumni office (which = me), and many more of them give feedback on the alumni reunion we have planned for this summer. And they are very helpful. In fact, I have already started implementing some of the suggestions I have received. But, as constructive criticism is intended to do, they highlight all of the gaps in my understanding of my audience, all of my communication failures, all of the places where my actions fail to live up to my intentions.

So right now, I am a bit heavy-hearted. And very weary.

I am super excited about the dreams I have for FLI alumni. I will be thrilled if I can accomplish even a fraction of the vision I have. (And someday soon I should write a post about that.) But right now, I need to go to bed. And I need to think twice next time I get a whim to ask for criticism from that many people at once.