Just finished. . .

a wonderful bible study book that my dear friend Jennae gave me.

It is called "Becoming a Woman of Influence" by Carol Kent.

I would highly recommend it! One of the greatest parts about it was that it had a study guide in the back with in depth questions that challenged me even more. Carol walked us through 9 chapters of disciplines that paralleled Jesus' live on impacting others. We can summarize them into these 7 things:

1.) Spend alone time with God.

2.) Walk and talk with people so that we can influence them through impact moments.

3.) Tell stories and use word pictures to make spiritual truth come alive.

4.) Ask people questions, especially ones that don't have "yes" or "no" answers.

5.) Show compassion.

6.) Practice unconditional love.
7.) Cast the vision of what Jesus can do through the life of someone who is willing to give her potential to Him.

Surprisingly, some of the chapters that challenged me the most were the chapters on showing compassion and unconditional love. I say I was surprised because I have considered myself a compassionate person, but I was revealed big part of this trait that has been missing. One of the things I loved most about this book was that the majority of her examples were straight from the Word, and she pulled out example of how Jesus interacted with people. I have found that I love reading through the gospels and reading about how Jesus lived!

I learned that compassion is not just feeling someone's hurt or pain but also acting on it. She quoted Megiddo Message who says, "Compassion is understanding troubles of others, coupled with an urgent desire to help." Even in a time of mourning, Jesus stopped his need to be alone and helped other people-thousands of people to be exact. I realized how selfish I am. I am too often consumed with my busy life to spend time with others who need it.

I have noticed this most while at school with students. My head is too often wrapped around the million things I have to do, and I do not take the time needed to just stop and have a quality conversation with a student(s). This is why I am there. I want to get to know them and know how to be praying for them, but how can I do that if I do not just stop.

I am feeling overwhelmed and encouraged at the same time! There are so many lessons I could share. This book has been perfect for me, and gave me practical steps towards living a life like Jesus.