The quote post...

Quotes make me very happy, therefore it was pretty inevidable that they would be on my blog. However, I decided that they were brilliant and special enought to warrent their own post. So, because of that fact and that they make me so happy, here are a few that I particularly like...

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

"Nothing but heaven itself is better than a friend who is really a friend."

~Plautus

"Friends, books, a cheerful heart, and conscience clear are the most choice companions we have here."

~William Hather

"God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees, and flowers, and clouds and stars."

~Martin Luther

"The real magic of the world is to be found in the pages of books."

~Douglas Gresham

"Never ask more or less of yourself than your best."

"Life is my college. May I graduate well, and earn some honors."

~Louisa May Alcott

"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."

~CS Lewis

And of course, it would be incomplete and totally un-me without an Audrey Hepburn quote! This is one of my favorites that I take as a motto often...

"Pick the day. Enjoy it- to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come... The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present- and I don't want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future."

~Audrey Hepburn

KNOW THAT YOU ARE LOVED!

ACBAE06 ~ Photography Scavenger Hunt

Stapler: They go together, because sometimes, what goes in must come out.

Refections: On the past and present; what we have lost, and what we have won.

Leap: The landing is pretty important.

Fears: Rejected... Abandoned... Alone...

Coffee: "Nothin' like coffee in the mornin'!"

Time: Because life is not lived in years, but rather in moments. The moments should always be treasured.

Squirrel: The encyclopedia talks about everything...

White Trash: Because I can't imagine anything more fitting to the trash than lies.

Date: My date spot, and the things that almost always accompany me.

Police: TPD: "Serving with Honor"

Self Portrait: "When Irish eyes are smiling... they're usually up to something!" I figure I'm Irish enough for it to count.

Making a Statement: Becuase Life is good. It's hard, it's challenging, sometimes it hurts, but

LIFE IS GOOD!

A Memory: MBG & Starshine...

Green: My favorite color... and my hug from God...

Music: My music on my favorite piano... it's over a hundred years old with ivory keys.

A Favorite Thing: Anything that lets me talk to YOU! :)

A Tool: My eighteenth birthday gift from my siblings... and my life-saver, more than once! :D

That's all folks! I hope that you enjoyed them, because I sure had fun taking them! :D Have a totally amazing day!

KNOW YOU ARE LOVED!

The Right to Lead: A Study in Character and Courage by John Maxwell

In the book, The Right to Lead: A Study in Character and Courage, Mr. Maxwell uses inspirational stories and quotes to illustrate seven things that a truly good leader must do. These things are: take action, have a vision, self-sacrifice, take risks, have determination, service to others, and possess integrity. Without these aspects of character, a leader would be far less effective in his mission.

Aspect one: take action. You will never become a leader by sitting on the sidelines. A truly great leader is out there, with his or her followers, encouraging, supporting, and going through everything that they have asked those under them to go through. Leadership is about walking the road with your people, not about handing them a map and saying ‘Have fun!’

Aspect two: have a vision. Proverbs 29:18a says “Where there is no vision, the people perish:” A leader, taking into account what they are passionate about, what they have learned, what the needs of those around them are, what the bigger picture is, what God has planned for them, and what their resources are, then can have a life-altering message to share with the world. Once they have the perspective of who they are and what God has brought them through, they can go out and influence the lives of those around them. Once they have a vision that is bigger than them, they can be a leader worth following.

Aspect three: self-sacrifice. Once you surrender your own security, your own comfort, or your own desires, and place the needs and safety of those under you before your own, then you can be a great leader. Leadership is not about what you can gain, but about what you have to give.

Aspect four: take risks. The important thing in this quality is the difference between risk and recklessness. Recklessness is carelessness and lack of responsibility; risk is to lay out your life or your safety for the benefit and protection of others. Value others more than you value your own comfort and security. A wise leader will take only calculated risks that have been thoroughly evaluated.

Aspect five: have determination. Again, leadership is about being in the thick of what you have asked your people to do, so why on earth should they keep going if you have a history of quitting when the road gets rough? Nothing great was ever done by someone that did not possess the fortitude and resolve to keep on when the odds were stacked against them and it looked like a lost cause. Take the story of the Shackleton expedition for instance; the situation was literally hopeless, they should have all been lost to the sea or the brutal elements. Yet, through the courage and tenacious determination of their captain, not a single man was lost.

Aspect six: service to others. Humility, an indispensible quality for a great leader, is simply realizing that you are where you are today because of the investment of others in your life. Leadership is serving others with this humility, empowering them to go on and become great leaders as well. It is necessary to lay down your own desires, comfort, and time in order to best equip those under you.

Aspect seven: possess integrity. President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.” A leader is nothing without their character honorable and intact. No one will follow someone whom cannot be trusted to make decisions or looked to in times of struggle.

Leadership is not a job; it is a way of life. It is not something that you do when others are there; it is what you do when you know that you are alone. Leadership is not something that comes in moments of glory, but in moments of struggle and heartache. The road of leadership is not an easy one to travel, but it is a worthwhile road. You possess the influence to change your world. Are you willing to give what it takes to be a great and noble leader?