Top 10 Articles from 2007
This week, as I reflected on Gifted for Leadership's first year, I decided to do a little analysis. I checked back through our "traffic patterns" for the last 12 months to find the most-read articles on the blog. I though you might be interested in this information, as I was, so I've decided to share it with you. Here's a list of the Top 10 most-read articles of 2007, along with a short excerpt from each one:
10. Edit Your Schedule, Practice Self-Control
by Susan Arico (June)
"Most of the tasks that fill my time on 20-task days are reactive and even compulsive: living life in a knee-jerk fashion. Hurrying through, I skip reflection, prayer, and paring down my list to the truly important. These omissions are actually a form of laziness -
a reluctance or unwillingness to do necessary work; seeking the easy way out. We think of laziness as idleness and procrastination, but it can also come in the shape of frenetic activity and over-full days." (Read more?)
9. 3 Temptations of Leadership, Part 2
by Amy Simpson (April)
"It's easy to see how we face this temptation. Who doesn't want to be popular? Who doesn't want all the glory and attention and spectacular scene that come with success? Even if we know the downsides to popularity, none of us can completely resist its pull. And, wired for worship as we are, we love a popularity contest and a hero." (Read more?)
by Carla Barnhill (July)
"I have fallen prey to the false belief that I am what I do, that it is my work as a mother, a wife, and editor that gives my life meaning. I have learned to present myself as a woman who is completed, who knows what she's doing at all times. And I have lost something precious." (Read more?)
by Andrea Minor (May)
"I was not making our marriage the priority it needed to be and we were both struggling. It was not long until we realized that it was far more important that our children see us happy together, spending time with each other, and also seeing moments of tenderness and romance, than to have their clothes laid out on their beds every night. A change had to be made." (Read more?)
6. Bringing Harry Potter to Church
by Caryn Rivadeneira (July)
"I just couldn't leave the unfinished book on the table. I imagined having to walk out of the service with my fussy five-month-old, knowing he wanted to nurse, knowing I'd nurse him on the comfy couch in the library. I just couldn't fathom that scene without Harry. So I did it. I made room in my already overstuffed half-purse, half-diaper bag, and I brought Harry Potter to church." (Read more?)
by Amy Simpson (September)
"Those who are called to women's ministry have their work cut out for them. It's not an easy job to minister to such a diverse group of people. But anyone who wants to appeal to women in general must recognize that women come in many different shapes and must create programs that appeal to more than one type. This is the same for any demographic group in the church, but perhaps most of all for women." (Read more?)
4. Why I Don't Do Women's Ministry
by Amy Simpson (August)
"It's been a long time since I attended a women's Bible study, luncheon (why don't they just call them "lunch"?), or anything else just for Christian women. I've spent enough of my life feeling bored, self-conscious, and out of place (think junior high gym class)." (Read more?)
3. In Memory of Ruth Bell Graham
by Wendy Murray Zoba (June)
"Ruth Graham's life, aching back and all, is a letter crafted especially for people like me who dread the thought of growing old. It's got to hurt, bearing the physical repercussions of gutsy living while putting your own well-being on the line in deference to others." (Read more?)
by Carla Barnhill (January)
"It's almost impossible to talk about gender issues without crashing into all the stereotypes about work-obsessed men, overly sensitive women, and the nasty label that gets attached to assertive women in the workplace." (Read more?)
by Sally Morgenthaler (July)
"I wondered about this young woman, and the pain she was carrying. Were her tears about herself ? her own dark places? Or was she married to someone with a secret, a leader with a double life? I didn't know. But I do know that her entire countenance changed at one point." (Read more?)
We have many more of these challenging and inspiring articles in store for this blog in 2008. As you're enjoying them and adding your comments to the conversation, you might also want to look back at some of these articles from the last year. We started some great conversations, I hope you've grown, as I have, from what you've experienced in this online community.
I'm curious: What's your favorite article from our first year?
