Diane Paddison - Work, Love, Pray: Practical Wisdom for Young Professional Christian Women

W HEN DIANE PADDISON ASKED ME to write the foreword for her book, Work, Love, Pray, I was delighted and honored. Recently a good friend introduced us, and within the first few minutes of our meeting, Diane and I quickly realized that we share similar avocations. We have achieved successful careers, are involved in womens issues, have a desire to make an impact in peoples lives, and most importantly, we both have a strong faith in God. So, when Diane described the premise of Work, Love, Pray, I was eager to read it and wholeheartedly acknowledged the need for a book that reminds women that God has strategically placed us in the workforce. He wants us to utilize the gifts and abilities He has granted us to accomplish His purpose in our lives.

Diane and I talked about the way God has worked in our lives. He assuredly has equipped us with unique talents and perseverance to achieve success. But it is also strikingly apparent that God has opened doors of opportunity for us. Though in different businesses Diane as a chief operating officer of multiple Fortune 500 real estate companies, and me serving at The White House for both President and Mrs. Bush, then as the deputy chief of protocol of the United States, and now in Dallas at The Bush Institute the Lord clearly has a purpose for our lives and He has a purpose for yours as well.

The following two verses are great reminders that God has a plan for each of us: Proverbs 16:9 says, We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps, and Jeremiah 29:11 says, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. God has a specific plan for your life and mine. When we trust in Him and walk closely with Him, He will open doors of opportunity for us that we could never open ourselves. He gives us favor. When thinking about my own life, I am overwhelmed by Gods goodness, faithfulness, and favor. In 2000, I started working as a volunteer for then-Governor Bushs campaign for president in my home state of California. I did not have any connections to the Bushes, the Republican Party, nor anyone who worked for them. But I worked diligently and did any task needed, from taking the garbage out to driving President Bushs nephew to events. I quickly was given more important responsibilities because of my strong work ethic and availability to work long days. But looking back, it is evident that the Lord lifted me up and gave me favor. One day, Governor Bush was coming to Los Angeles for events. The volunteer who was supposed to help with the event got the stomach flu, so I was asked to help the advance team coordinate the governors visit. One of the advance representatives needed help assembling press packets and photocopying press kits. In order to complete the task, it meant that I had to miss Governor Bushs speech, which was disappointing, but the job had to get done. As we ran the press kits out to the press bus, I actually got to meet Governor Bush (a little blessing from God). And because of my dedication, I was asked to help with the following days events. Soon after, Governor Bush won the primary in California and I flew to Austin in hopes of landing a job on the campaign. When I went to the campaign office, I saw the woman I had helped in California a few months earlier. She was in Austin for only one day and it happened to be the day I was visiting. She gave my resume to the director of advance that day, and a few days later, I received a call to join the campaign full-time as an advance representative. Looking back, I am still amazed at how the Lord opened doors I could not have opened for myself. In those early years, I never imagined the Bushes would even know my name. But today, I have traveled to over sixty countries with them, regularly have dinner in their home, and work closely with them at the Bush Institute. I tell this story to illustrate one of the principles that Diane lays out in the book that when our faith is the center of our lives, the Lord will open doors to us, give us supernatural favor, and use us to influence others.

As Diane points out in the book, women have more opportunities than ever before more women are graduating from college than men, a record number of women are in the workforce, and women are getting married and having children later than ever before in history. While women have an abundance of opportunities, we are also faced with the challenge of balancing our lives work, family, personal lives, health, faith and the list goes on. God uniquely made women to multitask, but many of us feel incredible pressure. Expectations for women at this time in history can cause confusion about our role and anxiety about how to balance it all.

Work, Love, Pray is a fantastic book for women who desire to thrive in EVERY area of their lives. Diane provides practical tools for women, especially those in the workforce, who want to learn how best to balance faith, work, and family. She includes personal stories from her own life that provide insights from which the reader can glean important principles for their lives.

I am confident you will find Work, Love, Pray inspiring and encouraging. Use the stories and tools provided in the book to help you on your journey. Most importantly, remember God has a plan and purpose for you. When you reflect back, I believe you will see Gods hand in your life every step of the way. When we stay close to God, we never know the exciting places He will take us. This book will prepare you to go.

Blessings,

Charity N. Wallace

Director, Womens Initiative at the George W. Bush
Institute, and senior advisor to Mrs. Laura Bush

W HEN I GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE, I did what every college graduate does: I looked for a job. I mean a real job. Id done all sorts of jobs on the family fruit farm near Harrisburg, Oregon, from managing the peach-picking crews to picking up rotten fruit in the orchard to operating the cash register at our roadside fruit stand. Now I was ready to go to work in a business suit and carry a briefcase. I cant say I really thought in terms of career. That seemed like something older people did. I just wanted a job that would give me a salary and a chance to use what I had learned in college.

Fortunately, I found just such a job. Although I grew up in a relatively conservative home, I was given tremendous encouragement to hop out of the comfortable nest my parents had built for me and fly off into the world of opportunity that stretched ahead of me. Unlike previous generations of Christian women who went to college to get their Mrs. degree, it was just assumed in our household that I would go to college, get a degree, and find a good job. And thats exactly what I did.

What I wasnt prepared for, however, was how to manage my job with two other things that were very important to me: my faith in God and, eventually, a husband and children. During the first couple years out of college, it was just my job, my little apartment, and me. If I had to work late, I didnt have to call anyone and let them know where I was. Those were great years where I learned so much about the corporate world and my own strengths and abilities. But it wasnt long before my job became a career. If it hasnt happened to you yet, it will. You start out taking whatever job comes along thats even loosely related to your college major. Because you are a reasonably intelligent person with a strong work ethic, you find your stride quickly and earn that first promotion. You get a bit of that adrenaline rush that comes from doing a job well and being recognized by your peers and supervisor, which motivates you to stretch a little further, and before you know it, youve been given greater responsibilities. What started out as a cool way to pay off your college loans or save for graduate school is now a full-fledged career. You enjoy what you do, youre pretty good at it, and life seems pretty nice.