On June 13, 2014, I posted my first blog in obedience to what I felt God was calling me to do. It had to be God because this is not something that I was able to do in my own strength – nor did I particularly want to write a blog! This is especially true in my case; I am dyslexic, and I never attended high school. I did not go to school from the ages 11-21. Writing was a nearly impossible challenge for me. However, in obedience I took on the challenge and for six years and three months, posted a weekly blog up until the end of 2018. In January 2019, I began an assignment as a missionary in South Africa with the Church of the Nazarene, so I posted every other week.
God used many people to enable me to continue this blog over the years. I will be remiss if I do not acknowledge some of the main supporters.
I will say, even before the writing began, I discovered my calling and passion for leadership coaching one morning in January 2013 while sitting in the office of my good friend, Dr. Michael Pitts. He asked a life changing question when I was sharing with him how I felt my life lacked direction. The question was, “If you could be doing anything you want with your life right now, what would it be?” Before he finished the question, I had the answer. I said, “I would be a life coach.” Thank you, Dr. Pitts, for your support and encouragement over the years.
That morning began a journey for me that has led me to train as a Certified Professional Leadership Coach at Professional Christian Coaching Institute (PCCI), the best Christian, International Coaches Federation-accredited, virtual coaches’ training school I know of. I can still remember the phone call I received from PCCI’s President and CEO Christopher McCluskey when I sent an email inquiring about the school. Thanks to my PCCI family: Christopher McCluskey, Anne Denmark, Cheryl Scanlan, Michael Pfau, Charles Hooper, Rachel McCluskey, and Kim Avery to name a few. The leadership coach I am today, as well as insights for much of my blog content, was developed from the input of my PCCI family. Thank you, PCCI.
Having a call and being trained were only the beginning. To make the blog actually appear on a website was again a God-ordained event. And God used Kevin Plew. When I first met him, I had no idea he would be the person God would use to set up my blog and post the blogs for the first few months. Kevin became a good friend because of this connection. Thank you, Kevin, for giving me the start I needed.
Getting started was great but continuing to post the blog weekly became another challenge as Kevin grew too busy. Then God sent Sandra Forester who was working for a newspaper at the time. Not only would she become the person who would post every week and then every other week for the next several years, but she also became one of my editors. Trust me, you would not want or even be able to read and understand unedited material written by this dyslexic mind. Sandra has been on this journey with me since the fall of 2014, and she has been as reliable as the sun rising in the east. Thank you, Sandra, for your help and support over the years. You have made me look so much better than I am capable of doing myself. I know the reason you have been so amazing in supporting me in this ministry is because you share the vision of this ministry. And for you, what you did was ministry.
Other than God, the person I owe the most for who I am today as a leadership coach, a person, and as a blogger is my amazing wife and friend, Dr. Rhonda Carrim. She believed in me and supported me when I could not believe in myself. She had the difficult job of editing my first draft. I am sure at times she probably felt it would have been much easier for her if I had dictated the blog to her rather than having her wade through and correct the jumbled mess I gave her to make sense of. Thank you, Rhonda, for your unfailing love, support, and encouragement on this journey of being a leadership coach and the many, many blogs you edited.
The thing about journeys is that they come to an end. And the same God who invited me into this journey and provided everything I needed to do it, is now saying that this part of the journey is over for now. In the past two months or so, I felt God saying to me that I need to withdraw from this platform of ministry; so, we will pause the blogging ministry. I am not sure where He is leading next and I am OK with that.
My friends, I want to thank all of you for your support over the years. Your feedback served me well to let know if or how I was being effective. And your encouragement served as motivation to keep on writing. For now, I will maintain the website so you can have access to the material whenever you need a reminder for your own journey or if you need to refer someone to get their own encouragement for the journey.
The journey has been amazing, and I am deeply grateful to all of you, my friends, for traveling with me. And more importantly, I thank God for inviting us on this journey together.
While the blogging will be paused, for those of you who have worked with me in the past, please be assured that I am still available to you as your coach so do not hesitate to reach out when you need my support as your coach.
Remember: YOU GET FURTHER FASTER WITH A COACH!
God Bless