Strenghts Exercise

This past week I was able to take a VIA strengths test. What I discovered was pretty amazing to me. There were two that I for sure saw coming, but the third top strength that I had somewhat shocked me in a way. My first two strengths were Kindness and Generosity, the second strength that I had was Capacity to love and be loved, and the final top strength I has was Caution, Prudence, and discretion. As I began to think about these strengths I began to try and come up with a way to implement these. So this blog is about the journey of the past week that I was able to go on and how I was going to implement these strengths into my everyday life.

Strength #1

My first strength was kindness and generosity. I saw this coming because I have always seen myself as a person who just loves being kind and just wants to let others know that they are important. After reading this I was trying to postulate three different ways of adding these to my daily life, and here are the three I came up  with.
1.First I would try and compliment at least 3 people throughout my day the more the better.
2.Next I would hold the door open for at least 3 people throughout my day the more the better.
3.Finally I would tell at least 2 different member of my family something I loved about them each day (I stuck to the 2 on this one so I would have enough member of my family to talk to).

In doing this I found that it not only made the people around me more happy. For instance each time I held the door, complimented someone, or called one of my family member they all had a similar reactions. They all became a little happier. Some more than others, but it also put me in a better mood and allowed my day to start and finish in a better way.

Strength #2

My second strength was Capacity to Love and be Loved. This means that I value close relationships in which sharing and caring are reciprocated. This one was a little more difficult to make steps for implementing in my everyday life, but here is what I came up with.
1.First I would have at least one conversation with my girlfriend about something important to me or something important to her.
2.Next I would call at least one of my friends and tell them exactly what they mean to me so foster growth in our friendship.
3.Next I would talk to my roommate everyday to just catchup with him and see where he stood in his daily life.

I found that doing all of this would not only strengthen my friendships, and even my relationship with my girlfriend. With all of this it showed the people I interacted with that I truly cared for them, and not only that it built up the relationships I have.

Strength #3

The last of my top strengths was caution, prudence, and discretion. This is the one I really never saw coming. I always thought that it would be made leadership or something of that nature. However this was really interesting, and here are the three ways I implemented it into my life.
1.First off when I would make a purchase I would make a list of pros and cons before buying it. This helped because if it was not a good idea to purchase then I would not do it.
2.Next I would think thoroughly about the decision I would make each night. For instance whether it was smart to hang out with friends or do homework.
3.Lastly I would just try and be care of the things that I said to people and about people.

Each of these things made my day better because I was able to save money, I was able to get more done, and finally I was able to speak more carefully and cautiously which protected people from harsh things I may have spoken unintentionally.

I loved this experience so much. It was so enjoyable to be able to do things and implement certain things that not only made my day better, but also other people's days better too. So go out do a strengths test and integrate your results in you life so the can have a positive impact on you and others.

#CounselorsHelp

My sister is a counselor she went through the clinical counseling master's program at Harden Simmons University her name is Jayme Hayward. I myself have never seen or visited a counselor, but there is in fact amazing benefits to going and seeing one. The #CounselorsHelp is indeed one of truth, there are so many ways in which they can help.

Counselors do not get most of the credit in which they deserve, and this is because they are able to help so many people work through the tough issues that weigh in everyone's life.

I know that for my sister specifically she worked each summer at a camp known as White River youth camp. This is a camp that is for youth who have struggled with abuse and even addiction. There have been so many cases in which she has told us a few snippets of stories from this camp (she keeps them to her self except for some aspect she is able to talk about because of privacy issues). She has told many stories in which she helped many students work through the abuse and the addictions in which they struggled.

I am so thankful to have a sister who is so committed to helping and taking care of people who need help in the form of counseling. Not only does she work at the White River Youth camp she also travels around to different schools and works with the kids who need it most. She is so sweet and caring towards her clients. Her clients need her and with her job she changes lives. She has far more of an impact then she realizes.

Not only do I have a sister who is a clinical Counselor I have a friend who struggled with a depressive disorder and with an anxiety disorder. He had to go to much counseling and he was on some medication. Talking to him though he was able to over come most of these things through the counseling he under went. he was encouraged to do things he loved to over come and to continue going to counseling and now he is a place where he is able to succeed like he never has.

Going to counseling is not something that is only for the ones who are suffering with super sever hurt and injury, no it can be for the biggest of issues to the smallest of things. So if there is anything that someone is struggling with and you know them encourage them to go to counseling because they can help, and if you are struggling go and talk to someone because sometimes all it takes is just a simple conversation.

So lets take some time and say thank you to all the counselors that we know, and lets take time to spread the word of counseling. Counseling can help and it does help so if you are struggling tell someone, and when you  over come tell your story. Share it on social media with the #CounselorsHelp. So lets spread the word and tell those who are in need so they can get help, and be better. share on social media

#PsychStory

Francis Chan, he is a Chinese Christian Pastor who is know of world wide. Chan, had to over come many things in order to get where he is today. Not only did he have to over come his hardships in his personal life in his family, but also in the fact that he had to over come some of the issues he faced with being  Chinese. His story is truly beautiful and awe inspiring. It truly is a story of over coming, and points straight to Jesus.

This is Francis Chan and his story all thanks to the website known as just stop and think.

"He [Francis Chan] was born in 1967. His mother died giving birth to him. After being raised by his Buddhist grandmother in Hong Kong, Francis came to America at the age of 5. His father remarried, and then his step mother died in a car accident when Francis was 9. Then his father died of cancer when he was 12 years old. The only close relatives he had were his aunt and uncle. But when he was in high school, his aunt and uncle got in a fight, and his uncle shot his wife then killed himself." (Juststopandthink.com).

The losses were profound. Chan says physical and verbal affection in his family, particularly from his father, was rare. His only memory of affection from his dad came when Chan and his father were on the way to his stepmother’s funeral, and his father put his arm around him for about 30 seconds.

Francis Chan has an older sister Grace, older brother Paul and much younger half-sister, Gloria. He had family support from his father’s younger sister and her husband, Marion and William Wong, along with a large extended family and church family. He did not get along well with his father growing up, but says that his fear of his father has helped him understand a level of fear of God. He also stated he didn’t understand the love of God well until he became a father himself. (Juststopandthink.com). 

Despite a childhood filled with death, Francis Chan did not doubt the love of God. He recalls a childhood filled with church and belief in God. And by junior high school he began to understand what it meant to have a personal relationship with God. In high school, he began living it. By God’s grace and mercy, Francis came to know the Lord in high school in Stockton, Ca. (Juststopandthink.com). 

Chan was active in Christian youth groups which helped develop his faith in Christianity and his interest in ministry. Chan joined his youth pastor in ministry to reach his friends who were still in school. It was during that time that Chan chose to become a pastor. He earned a BA in youth ministry from The Master’s College and a Master’s of Divinity from The Master’s Seminary. In 1992, he worked as a youth pastor for another church. Eventually, he and his wife Lisa decided to start their own church, Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, Ca. In 1994. Within ten years, the church had grown to over 3,000 regular attendees. Before becoming a senior pastor, Francis worked for a variety of employers including Taco Bell, Mic Pizza, Kirby Company, Ralphs Market, Broadway Men’s Clothing, hardwood flooring contractors, and the Acapulco restaurant. (Juststopandthink.com).

After five years of church as usual at Cornerstone, a missionary from Papua New Guinea challenged Chan’s self-centered theology. Just a few years later, Chan took a trip to Uganda that further altered his thinking and living. “It was there that I fell in love with orphans." (juststopandthink.com). 

Chan started Eternity Bible College in 2004 as a ministry of Cornerstone Community Church with 100 students. In 2008, Eternity launched an abroad program in Ecuador. [13]As of 2009, the college graduated 47 graduates serving in various parts of the world. In 2005, Francis was the featured speaker in a now international video called Stop And Think (Juststopandthink.com) which went viral, landing in every state and 30+ countries.

"He has inspired many people with his ‘crazy love’ message. His passion and clarity in sharing the gospel has inspired many to seek the Kingdom of God wholeheartedly, with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
The pastor, speaker and best-selling author believes a life called by Jesus will be a transformed life. And he tries to live out that transformation in every aspect—his ministry, his family, his community, his finances and his publishing." (Juststopandthink.com). 

"On Sunday, April 18, 2010, Chan announced to his congregation that he felt called to resign at Cornerstone in Simi Valley to pursue what God had laid on his heart. As of April 2010 he stated he was not yet sure what city God had called him to,[11] but by June 2011 stated publicly he felt called to San Francisco, CA. He moved to Northern California, and as of 2013, Francis’s website said he was “working to start a church planting movement in the inner city of San Francisco and also working to launch a countrywide discipleship movement.” (Juststopandthink.com). 

"After a three-month leave from Cornerstone, Francis said he felt convicted to sacrifice more for God. Chan gives away about 90 percent of his income, doesn’t take a salary from his church, and has donated most of his book royalties, which have totaled about $2,000,000, to various charities. Much of it goes to organizations which rescue sex slaves in foreign countries. Furthermore, in 2008 it was reported that Cornerstone would give away 55% of its income to charitable causes." (Juststopandthink.com). 

In September 2014, Chan joined the board of elders of Abundant Life Christian Fellowship in Mountain View, California.
Currently, Francis is planting churches in the San Francisco area and recently launched a countrywide discipleship movement called Multiply with David Platt. Together, Francis and his wife Lisa raise their seven children in Northern California." (Juststopandthink.com).

Francis Chan has a story of true redemption and it is just so amazing to get to read and just see all the crazy ways that the Lord has used Francis Chan and the amazing ways in which he will continue to use him. Francis Chan is an amazing representation of what over coming truly looks like. Here is a video of Francis sharring parts of his testimony in a sermon https://www.bing.com/videos/searchq=fraancis+chan+testimony&view=detail&mid=9ED86DA74DD4C42D45B19ED86DA74DD4C42D45B1&FORM=VIRE

Not everyone has the same story, there is encouraging parts and difficult things in everyones story. So lets all keep the ball rolling and begin to tell all our stories and the stories of others. I hope y'all can read this and be encouraged.
 #PsychStory

Sources:

http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/faithfamilyamerica/pages/16350/meta_images/original/201602-Francis-Chan.jpg?1499269654

http://faithlifewomen.com/files/2012/10/Chan-Family5-630x320.png

https://www.juststopandthink.com/francis-chan-bio/

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=fraancis+chan+testimony&view=detail&mid=9ED86DA74DD4C42D45B19ED86DA74DD4C42D45B1&FORM=VIRE