Living like you believe it

Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world. -1 Peter 2:12

If we want to impact lives as Jesus did, we will give people opportunities to grow, and then encourage and help them if they fail. It means taking the time to pray with them, train them, and encourage them. Sometimes it means watching them fail the first time they try a new task.

Let's not let fear hold us back. Let's be more like Jesus. Let's see people like He saw them-people with great potential. Remember, making a lasting impact on others doesn't have to do with you, it has to do with how much you become like Jesus.

If you and I want to become women of influence, we will do what Jesus did.

1) Spend time alone 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 their potential to Him

I know my life is a journey, and at times I think I've arrived at the place of influence God wants me to be in for the rest of my life. Then I look at the landscape and see the faces of people I've met along the way-people who need compassion, unconditional love, a method for spending time alone with God, a key question to help them find answers, a personal story of Jesus' ability to change a life, or perhaps just an impact moment because they have never met a Christian before. And I realize, "I am here...but I'm not where I'm going" because the more I look at the example of Christ, the more I get a vision of the new challenges He has for me.

-Carol Kent (Becoming a Woman of Influence)