Family, friends and close associates will tell you I’m a ’stickler’ for doing what’s right!  I don’t always accomplish it, but I strive for it.  They’ll also tell you that I’m an exceedingly loyal person who tries diligently to keep the promises I make.

Having said that, I’m here to tell you that I don’t always succeed with those goals.  I may let others down simply because I have too many balls in the air.  Or I make unrealistic promises I can’t possibly keep for years on end.  But my goal is to be a loyal Mom (and g’ma too), friend and business associate; and I strive to keep the promises I make, having learned over the years not to be so quick to promise something without thinking it through thoroughly first.

The reason I’m approaching this topic for “Monday Moments” is because of a number of episodes that have occurred since launching AWP last year and AWItm earlier this year.

Prior to July 1, 2007 much thought went into turning the “vision” of AWP into reality.  Trusted associate-friends gave input into the process.  EVERYONE said AWP needed to be a “safe place” for ‘chronologically maturing women’ traveling the 2nd half of the journey to “hang out” together!  By safe, we meant safe from the creeps that prowl the internet looking for female victims to prey upon.  Safe from lecherous folks who only want to sell us something without a care about us as a person - a woman!  Safe from gossipy folks who would carry our secrets away only to expose them to others for whatever reason.  And safe from folks who would judge us and the place we are on the road of faith-development in a way that hurts - rather than heals.

There were those among us who differed with “this” or “that” of the vision-expression who wandered off to do their own thing with nary a care as to how their actions might be harmful!

Nearly a year has passed since we arrived on the cyber-scene and things are going pretty well.  Traffic has picked up; women are discovering us and discovering AWItm as well.  I’m thrilled, overjoyed at times and delighted that we are headed the way and direction that we are.

I’m chatting here about “promises” because we made a promise to be a “safe” place for women who join us.  In so doing, there were things we had to do to keep that promise.  Things that others may not understand.

For instance, you won’t find our membership list anywhere on the site - registered or not.  Simply won’t happen.  In fact, once you “register” and “log in” with your username and password, you still won’t find it there.  When we mail in a format other than Constant Contact (our preferred email marketing system); you won’t find the addresses of those to whom we’re mailing because they are “blindcopied”.

Some have grumbled a wee bit about these “inconveniences” as they see it.  When there is ‘grumbling’ I’m suspicious of the motivation for wanting the entire list to be ‘published’ for the world to see.  TRUST ME, none of us want the WORLD to see our information.  All you have to do is visit my “spam” box at any given time during a day to see why.

We owe it to the women who have come to trust us and taken us at our word to maintain the “safe place” we say we are.  We owe it to those who will come as the future becomes the ‘now’ to maintain that promise. 

 If it takes us a little longer to accomplish the things we need to accomplish to maintain the ‘promise’ while creating the ’safe community’ we want - then so be it.  We simply ask patience with the process.

I bring this to our chat for the day (and to tomorrow’s BUZZ) because over the past several weeks, I felt a level of serious discomfort with communication from males I didn’t have a clue who they are.  They “found me” because I registered on a fairly new social networking site based in Ohio.  I was uncomfortable from “moment one” because of the kind of personal questions that were asked that truly were no one’s business.  Once “registered” I immediately was contacted by four (4) males. 

“Where are all the females,” I thought.  I would have thought only females would contact me given the nature of our business.  No, four men.  I didn’t respond to any of them as I wasn’t interested in their businesses nor were they folks that would fit our vision and mission.  After a few weeks, one of them registered for our newsletter.

Thank God!  I hesitated adding the man to our list.  (We have only 3 males on our list and they are trusted individuals I know personally and professionally).  Sent him an email asking for what reason he wanted to be added and got some response that I considered garbly-goop and his terse comment “de-registering” (I never even registered him).

I went on my merry way without another thought about it except that I asked to be removed from the list of members at the social network site about which I now have considerable questions as to their integrity and true purpose. 

I’d like to say the saga ended there; but it didn’t.  The rest of the story is for tomorrow’s BUZZ under “A Word of Caution”.

What stuns me is to learn that many of the folks with whom I was dealing would identify themselves as “Christians”.  I don’t know why I would be stunned, but I guess there’s enough naivete in me yet to think that someone who purports publicly to “believe” would behave in a manner most of us would consider ethical.  But that too is for ‘another day!’

The bottom line is that we made a ‘promise’ to provide a ’safe place’ for women to come and gather in community.  Learn from each other; share with each other; grow together and as individuals.  And yes, hopefully do business with each other so that each of our individual businesses and/or professional careers blossom as well. 

That means keeping the demeaning souls from our door - regardless of their gender.  That means being true to our promise as well as a code of ethical behavior that respects each other as persons first and a business opportunity second!  Not that I want to play BIG MAMA, but it’s part and parcel of my responsibility as the one who made the promise to each of you!

Encouragement for today?  Yes, with a little advice thrown in for good measure.  Before making a pledge, a vow or a promise; think carefully about the ramifiations of what you’re promising.  Look it over carefully - all facets of it and make certain it is something you can live up to.  And be prepared, if you must at some point, to explain why it is the way it is!

Enough for today!  Much to do on a day for some travel, so moving on to the next item on the list!

Have an awesome day with much love and safe journey’s in business and cyberspace!

Linda, a fellow journeyer