Wow, I can't believe how much I love what I am doing. Never before have I felt more fully utilized in a position, where a perfect intersection exists between my right and left brain.

The Left-Brain Me
When I was younger, I used to walk by banks and administrative offices, look in the windows and see all the office supplies and computers and paperwork on the desks, and think that I wanted to work in that kind of environment when I grew up. The environment here at Strang is just like that, and my job here in the Imprint Group is just like that, too: administrative in a fun way. There's lots of typing and inserting of changes and checking of documents for consistency, clarity, and correctness, and I love that part of my job!

But I'm a Right-Brain, Too
Then again, I also have a strong mind with great capacity for new ideas and how they should be structured and expressed. I wouldn't be satisfied with a job that was only data-entry or typing other people's words all day long. Thankfully, the even bigger part of my job involves working directly with manuscripts and making them even better.

Just today, for instance, I took the first chapter of a workbook that will accompany an important health book we're publishing in January, and I whipped that chapter into shape. The book it accompanies is dynamic and fun and inspiring, and I had to do a bit of work to make the feel of the workbook match the feel of the main book. I must say I'm pleased with the end result. (And Debbie was, too, which boosted my confidence in what I am bringing to this team.)

But Don't Forget: Relationships Are Priority One
When I was half-way through my term at Biola last year, limping along from the difficult writing class I had created for 100 honors freshmen, a very special girl in my life revealed the unique stamp God put on me.

"Christianne," she said, "don't compare yourself to all the other people you work with and the strengths they bring to the department that you don't." (She was speaking to their unified possession of PhD diplomas, compared to my measly BA.)

"From where I stand," she continued, "they're all the same, like black-and-white. But what you bring is color. You have a heart for people and their hearts that they need desperately to receive. So let your color shine!"

I'll never forget those words Hannah spoke. They're what helped me realize that God gave me a great heart and open mind and listening ears for the needs of others. It's a unique thing to be able to provide God's compassion and mercy and grace to people who need to feel His loving embrace, especially in places where a stellar performance is emphasized and in a world where nobody listens.

In the end, it's most important that I bring the love and authenticity of Christ to those I work with here -- both inside and outside the office, with coworkers and with authors. I want them to see His grace and mercy shining through my words, actions, and presence whenever they come around me, and I have great hope He's already begun planting those seeds.