Leadership Tips & Training Sharing Articles Idea

To encourage class participation, I asked my class to bring in newspaper or magazine articles related to any aspect of First Place, such as weight-loss, exercise and nutrition. In class, I gave each person an opportunity to give a report of their findings. This lends itself to wonderful discussion on relevant topics and provides excellent Wellness Spotlight topics. My class this session has been great about sharing articles without being asked. I would love to share the following article one of my ladies shared with me. She brought it to class because it happened to include our memory verse for the week. Enjoy!

Maurine Jones, whose husband of 70 years recently passed away, decided to move into a retirement center. She waited in the lobby patiently for some time. Finally, the director of the retirement center came and told her that her room was ready. As she stood up and maneuvered her walker toward the elevator, the director described the way her room looked. "I love it!" Mrs. Jones said with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old receiving a new puppy. "But Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room yet." "That doesn't matter," she replied, "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like the room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged...it all depends on how I arrange my mind and I have already decided to love it. It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I can be happy or sad; I can be grateful or grumpy. Because I am a Christian, I choose to see each day as a gift from God; because I am a Christian, I choose to be happy and grateful." This is what the Apostle Paul meant later in his letter to the Philippians when he said, "I do not complain...I have learned to be content in all circumstances."

Dr. Jim Moore
Senior Minister of St. Luke's
United Methodist Church
Houston Chronicle


Nancy Taylor is the First Place Leadership Training Director and joined the First Place staff in 1997. Nancy teaches leadership principles to First Place Leaders throughout the country and at Houston's First Baptist Church where she coordinates all the First Place groups. . Nancy also speaks at First Place workshops, rallies, retreats, and conferences, where she delights her audiences with humor and encourages them with boldness. She writes a monthly article, which includes helpful tips for leaders, for the First Place E-newsletter, and was a contributing writer to the Today is the First Day devotional book. Nancy is the resident First Place Bible Concordance because of her love for Scripture memory.