My fictitious roundtable...

“'If you truly love Me, you will feed My lambs. My people are crumbling and dying and starving, and you're blessing blessed people and dreaming about your next house.'”
-Jen Hatmaker

“Being confident and believing in your own self-worth is necessary to achieving your potential.”
-Sheryl Sandberg

If you could arrange one roundtable conversation between any two people, who would you want to invite?

My answer... Jen Hatmaker and Sheryl Sandberg. In the last couple of months, I have been totally inspired by books written by these two influential women. I would love to hear them respond to each other.

Interrupted: An Adventure in Relearning the Essentials of Faith, by Jen Hatmaker
vs.
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, by Sheryl Sandberg

Their stories and their goals have stuck with me. Made me think. Kept me thinking. Their philosophies seem at odds with one another. Jen charges women to look out for the least of these, while Sheryl invites women to advocate for themselves. Jen talks about "stepping off the ladder," while Sheryl encourages you to think of it as "a jungle gym, not a ladder" and inspires you to climb on.

The target audiences for these two books feel completely opposite from each other (postmodern Christian women who want less vs. career-driven women who want more), but what happens when you're the person who falls into both categories. The more I consider these inspiring ideas, I think the true value is discerning where they can overlap for me.

As I ponder where the next few years will take me, my family, my job, and my passions, I wonder how willing I am to "reject power, prestige and possessions" as well as how far I am inclined to "lean in" to my career. Should I be organizing a missional lifestyle or dreaming about my five-year plan? Is one more right than the other? Is one more right for me?

I've already experienced my share of career jumps, especially considering I've been officially in the workforce for only seven years. And, while I'm loving where I'm working now, I can't help but wonder where this path will lead me. And of course, whether I have missed out on some opportunities that I can't get back.

I have to remind myself that both Jen and Sheryl stress that it takes time, patience, and a willingness to say "yes" to risks. You'll have to pass on some opportunities that aren't quite right, but when the right opportunity comes, you should jump on it.

By the way... more than once while writing this, I've had to pull out the thesaurus to find synonyms for the word "willing." Maybe that is the key here. My aha! Be willing...

Ready Willing & Able silkscreen print by marksarmel on Etsy.

[And of course, if I could choose the moderator for this fictitious roundtable discussion... my top choice would definitely be Glennon Melton, who always sees the beauty in women coming together to share and learn from each other. (And, I still need to get my hands on her book as well!)]

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If you could arrange one roundtable conversation between any two people, who would you want to invite?

Are you with me in this overlap? How do you decide whether/when to "reject power, prestige and possessions" and serve others or to "lean in" to your career?

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If you're interested in following these women's blogs, you can find them here:

• Jen Hatmaker - BLOG: http://jenhatmaker.com/blog.htm 
• Lean In: http://leanin.org/ 
• Momastery: http://www.momastery.com/blog/