I am a lion-eagle.
Only a handful of people will know what that means, so let me explain… When I was in grad school, we did this super fun personality/get to know yourself counseling activity. The “Personality Priority” is not only great for personal awareness and growth, but is also helpful in social interactions and relationships. If you know your personality priority and your friend’s personality priority, then you can see where you might bump heads or work well together.{sidebar–if you spend any amount of time with me I am nooooot secretly deciding which category you fit in…wink wink} So there are 4 categories: lion, eagle, turtle, and chameleon. With little information and some instruction, you figure out which category (or categories for us special folk) fits you best. Only afterward are you are handed an explanation for each personality, which tells more about the different facets of your personality like how people can react to you, what you are trying to achieve, assets, etc… For me, the most helpful part of the activity was finding out that my strengths can also be my weaknesses. I won’t spoil the activity for you, but I will give you the cliff notes interpretation of what my animals say about my personality…………… lion = control, eagle = superiority…
Sooooooo not only am I a “control freak”… but I think I’m better at it than you are! 
Seriously though, back to the strengths and weaknesses I was telling you about. Lions are strong leaders, organized, productive, assertive, persistent, and responsible…the other side of the coin is people can feel challenged by me, and I can feel more stressed out by feeling like I have no control. The eagle strengths can be that I have high levels of achievement, I try hard, and am a perfectionist…meanwhile I can make others feel inadequate and I can easily overextend myself. I love my lion-eagle strengths because they make me who I am; but understanding that these strengths can be a weakness in my relationships with people and with God was a whole new kind of enlightenment for me.
But what does my “Personality Priority” according to Kottman have to do with the title of this blog and fundraising for my World Race trip? I’m so glad you asked…
When I was initially researching The World Race to see if it would be a good fit for me, I was falling in love as I was scrolling… Leave adult life and serve…check! Go where I’m needed and love God’s people…check! Travel and serve with people I’ve never met while I leave my people at home…I can handle it…it’s only 11 months. Live out of a backpack and tent…mmmmm oook do-able. Fundraise $16,000+ to pay for it….hold the ph….EW. …nooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuugh. ugh.
Why does the word “fundraise” make me cringe? Why is asking for money so hard for me? After much reflecting I’ve come to these conclusions: 1. It means I’m not in control because I have to ask for help 2. It makes me feel inferior because I need help 3. I’m not in control!!!
Rewind back to the grad school…from the minute I learned about my fantastic lion-eagle-ness, God has been working on me…working and stretching my spiritual and emotional muscles. I started looking at life with my lion-eagle goggles on, analyzing my reactions and interactions and relationships from every angle. God is a gracious and patient teacher, who gives me a little bit to chew on and work out at a time. I started working on letting go of the control when I didn’t need it, and also learning how to humble myself out of the superiority throne. So when I met the FUNDRAISING beast head on for the first time this year, I’m not gonna lie…it has not been the easiest…But God has shown me little by little how to LET IT GOOO and trust Him. One of my devotionals through the preparation time spoke so directly to me, it was almost scary…so I wrote it on a post-it note (one of many) and put it on my bathroom mirror so I can read it every day
So as I continue on my walk with God…leaning heavily on Him in the areas where I am lacking…I am asking for your help. I need your help making my call to serve happen. My goal is $16,617, and I am about 17% fundraised to date. This money goes toward travel expenses and daily living expenses for the 11 months that I am serving in the 11 different countries. Many people feel the call to serve, maybe you do too, but your current situation would not allow you to drop responsibilities and go. Although you may not be able to go, I am able and ready, so please consider your gift as your call to serve. Your contribution is tax-deductible at the end of the year, so that is a great bonus in helping further God’s kingdom.
Here’s my fun breakdown of what is still needed. If you will notice, it is a verrrrrrry borrrring black and white picture. As I receive donations from you, I will color in each box to make a beautiful, vibrant picture of support. I will even color your box a specific color if you want! 
So please pray about this and consider donating what you can. Without y’all, my life would be this boring black and white page…sad. Thankfully many of you have added so much “color” to my life, and I am so blessed by your friendships. I will update this as I get closer to my launch date…wouldn’t it be awesome and amazing if it was fully colored in by my next blog?! Speaking of, I will share one last post-it that I have on my mirror as a daily reminder for this time of preparation. I hope it will speak to you as much as is speaks to me every day. Love y’all.
