Author: Tina Bell

Life Lessons on Pride from the Strawberry Patch

Over the weekend we made an impromptu stop to pick strawberries. After riding in a car for nearly three hours, I was carsick and needed a pit stop. The strawberry patch was closing in less than an hour, but we didn’t care. It was just a quick fun stop for our daughter and fresh air to hopefully calm my symptoms.

Read More »

Overcoming the Need to Be a Know It All

One of the best pieces of advice I was given early in my career was: “Your way is A way, but it’s just that, A way. There are lots of ways to accomplish the same task. Some ways are more efficient. Some ways are more effective. Some ways are more expensive. Some ways are more creative. But always be open

Read More »

Today I Am an Eagle

Yesterday all I wanted to do was cry. Read a text message … cried. Someone walked out of my office … cried. Left a meeting … cried. I knew why. I felt overwhelmed. For the last several days I have felt overwhelmed. And instead of counting the things I have accomplished and focusing on what is going right, I have

Read More »

Lessons from The Gospel Centered Life

This week I attended a Grow Class centered on learning how to live “The Gospel-Centered Life.” The class centers around Biblical concepts taught from a book by the same name. This week, the class focused on learning about the law and the Gospel. The group looked at how taking the legalism or license view, instead of the Gospel view, can

Read More »

First Things First

“First Things First”. When you hear that, what comes to mind? In his sermon yesterday, Dr. Terry Carter used an analogy borrowed from Bryan Dyson, a former President and CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises. In life, our relationships and activities can be put into three categories: Rubber, Metal, and Glass. Picture those categories as balls you’re juggling. They’re all competing for

Read More »

Confessions: Unpeeling Layers or Ripping Off the Bandaid?

I got in trouble twice that I remember in first grade. First, my teacher had her evaluation with the principal the same day my body decided to run fever in class. She had told us to be on our best behavior, so when my head started to hurt, I simply laid it down on my desk. When the principal left,

Read More »

How Does Pride in Appearance Keep You From Christ?

On the way to church yesterday the radio DJ spoke about how pride sometimes keeps her from experiencing what church is really about. She wakes up in the morning focused on what she’s going to wear. She focuses on how her hair looks and what her makeup looks like. During the Worship Service she worries if she looks like she’s

Read More »

Lessons on Change from Leader Shift

In his book, Leader Shift, John Maxwell reminds leaders that the environment we are on today is not necessarily the environment we will be in tomorrow. It is always changing. In order to stay ahead of the change, every leader most makes “leadershifts”. Below are a few key takeaways: You should position yourself to being able to make change. The

Read More »

How to Overcome Negative Thoughts

Did you know the average person has 60,000 thoughts a day, and 80% of them are negative? That means at the root of the things going on in our minds, there are 48,000 thoughts a day bringing us down. 48,000 things we have 100% control over, we allow to destroy us. Every. Single. Day. No wonder by the time we

Read More »

Are You Walking in Your New Identity in Christ?

We live in a world that tells us we need to become new. A world that tells us we need to look prettier, dress a certain way, drive nice cars, and obtain expensive things … all in an effort to make us feel “new”. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) reminds us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has

Read More »