Have you ever been in a conversation with someone who loved to complain about their problems? I have. In fact, I have been on the giving and receiving end many times. Often, our natural tendency is to think negatively about ourselves.  Negative self-talk is nothing more than the enemy’s voice entering our subconscious mind in order to defeat us. When we focus only on our problems, we willingly let the devil win over God. I heard from a friend this weekend at the LIFE Leadership summit that when we complain, we commit over 150 sins. This changed my perspective tremendously realizing that when I complain, I transparently expose my ingratitude (to others). Ugh! …A tough reality to swallow. One of my favorite quotes that reminds me of this topic is by Terri Brady: “Suffering is not a competition.” So many people wear their problems on their sleeve like a badge of honor.

The 2015 leadership summit has been specifically targeted at an audience who has experienced deep adversity but who have chosen to overcome any obstacles in order to claim their victory. I believe that God gives his biggest battles to his strongest soldiers and the iWireless Arena in Moline, IL is filled with some of the strongest men and women that I know. But, even the strongest among us fall down sometimes. I love that the theme of the weekend is directed at leaders who understand the uniform of leadership is thick skin (Chris Brady) and the armor for handling adversity is knowing and pursuing your purpose. LIFE coach George Guzzardo said last night that “People without a purpose will never understand what a person with a purpose is doing.” God is bigger than all of our struggles and problems and has equipped each and every one of us to overcome our challenges in order to fulfill our destiny.

Guest speaker and best-selling author Dan Castro quoted what God promises in scripture that “there is no such thing as a problem without a solution.”

Guest speaker and leadership expert John Stahl-Wert said, “We are not the captains of our destiny but we can communicate with the captain of our destiny.”

I love that Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady created a culture of leaders and over-comers who, when they fall down they get back up…again and again and again. The LIFE leadership community is unlike any other organization in the world because it is filled with people who embrace their struggles and use their adversity as fuel to influence and help more people in order to live their God-given purpose. Amy Marks encouraged the audience to “use your obstacles as an opportunity for change.”

There is no greater feeling in the world than experiencing a victory after you have fallen. Everyone has a pending victory in their future; and everyone experiences setbacks. The question we need to ask ourselves is, will we have the courage to continually overcome setbacks and claim the victory that awaits us?

God Bless,

Kristen

(This is Part 1 of the LIFE leadership summit re-cap. Stay tuned for Part 2!)