To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Lift Others Up

Cultivate something that brings joy

Rewind! This is an adapted post from 2017. Happy Easter weekend!

I love the idea of community gardens. If you aren’t familiar, community gardens are managed by groups of people, generally to meet a community’s needs. Sometimes that need is because the area is in a food desert and other times it’s education. No matter the reason, it is a positive initiative that brings great value, and improves health and happiness.

A few years ago, our church did a sermon series around the idea of “cultivate,” which got me thinking about areas in my life where cultivation is needed.

“Cultivate” has a double meaning. One is about preparing and using land for crops or gardening. We do this by tilling, plowing, fertilizing, mulching, watering, weeding… the type of hard work that community gardeners know all too well. The second meaning is to “acquire or develop” a quality, sentiment or skill. (Also hard work)

The two definitions are connected.

At the time, I associated the series with the word “joy”. This association struck me as an area I needed to focus on during that season of my life… to develop … cultivate if you will. I’m sure you know by now that I consider joy to be important. I feel so strongly that JOY is something we can have but that it often requires cultivating, especially during hard seasons.

You might have an area of your life that you want to cultivate, and I encourage you to pursue that. I am hopeful some of you will join me in generating some joy in our homes, neighborhoods and workplaces! What can you do today to elevate and cultivate joy? This is a terrific weekend to do just that!

Let’s dive right in (to the new year!)

(Rewind! This post is adapted from January 2018.)

I couldn’t resist the picture! I believe we need sunshine and as for winter… I’m praying it’s beauty is deep and it is only here for a bit longer!

Most of you have likely spent time reflecting on 2018,  putting thought into what you’d like to accomplish in 2019.  I have spent some time already, but intend to spend today taking a deep dive into this myself.  This effort always makes me feel like I have a working plan to put in motion.  I have found that it is completely true that writing down your thoughts and goals is a key part of achieving them.  To me, diving in is the only option. Taking action not only feels good, but it drives us forward.

What areas do you need to take action on? So many of your ‘one words‘ were so good and inspiring. How do you plan to make that happen? What does peace look like when it’s played out?  More time alone to reflect? … A deeper prayer life?  Time set aside time each morning?… What does joy look like? More time with friends? Family? Pets… or doing what fills your soul? …  What does release look like? How do I even do that? What do I need to let go of to optimize my life? How much of an impact can I make?….

My 2019 word, WISDOM, brings me to ask myself what areas I need wisdom in? (All is what came to mind.) Who do I need to have in my circle to optimize my life? And on…  (Oh and by the way, I started the Daniel Fast, so no social media for me over the next 21 days! I’ll still share my blog posts, but I won’t be mindlessly scrolling.What a great place for me to start!)

As you dive in, please know that you have a tribe of people supporting, encouraging and praying for you! I truly believe we can all accomplish whatever it is that helps us be our best. Of course that means, serving well – as in, really well!

It’s time to spread joy

“It’s time to spread joy” is one of my favorite go-to concepts in the workplace.

It’s a reminder I started years ago (no doubt borrowing the idea from some brilliant person.) to ensure we were all aware of how the days can go by without recognizing those around us who are shining brightly during the day to day grind. On a routine basis, sending out a friendly reminder for everyone to take a few minutes to reach out, thank, or otherwise acknowledge at least 3 people is all it takes to seriously elevate the world around you.  

It occurred to me, that I haven’t done it lately, and that this can be done really as a solo act. I think I’ll put a reminder in my phone to do just this every week or two. It is a basic human need to want to achieve purpose. For someone to take a moment to throw a virtual “confetti” parade by sharing a few kind words  on someone’s behalf is a game changer not only for them but for the energy it provides you and the environment. 

In this busy season, I hope that JOY is spread all around our communities, in homes, work places, and everywhere you find yourself.  

When you don’t know what to do… Bless’M

(Photo Courtesy of Twitter/Cleveland Browns)

Jarvis Landry – now wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns – has become a household name in the short time since his now-famous “rant” on the HBO reality show, ‘Hard Knocks.’

In the show, he  launched into a “tirade about guys not giving it all on the field,”  His point was for everyone to rise above how they feel or whatever their current situation may be, for the sake of the team and the goal at hand. His messages underline a theme: whether we are negative or positive, it is contagious to those around us.

His tagline, “Bless’M,” is a reminder to us to have the attitude to “Bless’M.” In other words: be thankful for whatever and forge ahead with a positive spirit.

I absolutely love football season. The energy in the stadium, on the field and even in the house, inspires me. Unified fans cheering for a common goal is what America is about to me.

Guys like Landry are the fabric of that energy. Even if you aren’t a football fan, I hope you find yourself getting caught up in the passion. And if you get a chance, watch Jarvis Landry. He is fun, and his “Bless’M” response calls us to be better. I kind of love that!

Let’s GO CHIEFS!

Let’s be GENEROUS with our love and praise

It’s so natural and easy to be generous with our love – at least with some people in our lives. This picture draws to mind a grandfather and granddaughter, which reminds me of those in our close circle who we are able to embrace so much easier (most of the time, that is…). That’s a good thing!

Today, however, I’m thinking about how to be generous with love with all people. It’s absolutely essential that we all learn or grow this character quality of generously giving love, praise and gratitude. It makes our world the best place, when we all come to the table with this approach and attitude. Here are a couple of things that I am contemplating:

  • Too often, we jump into a conversation – let’s use the business world as an example – and start right into the topic at hand. We establish meeting agendas and construct our days with a focus on getting the work done. That’s America in action.

    What if we all held ourselves accountable with setting up every conversation, every meeting agenda, every day with the focus on people first? What if we genuinely took time to express genuine praise, or to share a fun story to highlight someone’s wins? What if? Wouldn’t it be nicer? Wouldn’t the energy increase? Wouldn’t the culture and momentum of the team build?

  • I’m also giving thought to the fact that there is so much power in the written word. Let’s not forget that while our schedules heat up with back to school, sports and a renewed focus on wrapping up the year strong, that we need to stop and generously offer words of encouragement. A tiny post it note of thanks will often be found on someone’s work space wall, home desk or tucked in a wallet for months and years to follow. People need and want to be recognized. That’s all people, regardless of status, title or age. If our schedules somehow get in the way of putting pen to (actual) paper, then I would submit that generously sending text messages or emails are also powerful. Those, like the post-it note, can be screenshot, and will serve as an ongoing reminder to people of their impact.

This is so important and I hope today that you will join me in being generous with your love and praise.

Where do I have an opportunity to be a blessing today?

Where is that opportunity? Is it at work? Where I live? In the community? Is it in my own home? Is it myself? (We are often too hard on ourselves. Sometimes self-preservation, as I like to call it, is the “best yes.”)

I’ve shared before that I had a fabulous guy that drove me to the airport for awhile and he told me he prayed every morning that God would point out someone who needed a blessing. He told me how amazed he was that when he started that habit that his eyes were opened to the person needing a ride, some extra change, or whatever it might be.

As you close out the week, finishing strong, it would be great if we all stopped and looked for an opportunity to be a blessing. It’s often pretty simple. Sometimes a compliment, or opening a door is the biggest blessing. When I have been tired and sad, leaving a hospital or loved one, that one person’s cheery “goodnight, get some res!” was just what I needed.

I remember a young girl at summer camp several years ago, likely not even 20 years old, passed me on the bridge by the lake and said, “you are doing a great job (as a mom)…” That has never left me. As a newly-single mom, she stepped in as an angel in that moment.

Where can you best be a blessing?

The Power of Story

I have always been fascinated by that one tree in the middle of a field on a road trip. Somehow it has a story to tell, or so it seems. How did it arrive here? How has it endured the many seasons and harsh conditions? Is it lonely? Is it super confident because “damn, I survived?”

Clearly trees don’t think like us humans, but if they could talk, they’d have some powerful stories to tell. We all have stories, and we need to know and understand them, celebrating their lessons and impact on our lives.

A part of my mom’s recovery process has been a stint at a psychiatric hospital, where the goal was to modify her medications against the new anti-seizures meds to try to get her out of what seemed like a modified coma (or at least a state of not having her mind or many physical functions). I have to tell you, that at first it was beyond scary to be there. People walking, others laying or sitting in beds and chairs, yelling and babbling incoherently.

It’s tough on everyone involved and God bless the care team. My mom leaves there today to start rehabilitating her body. I have to tell you, that I’ve come to love these people who have taken care of her. Yesterday, Maria told me about her 46-year-old marriage and pieced together a story for me about how she is a working woman, a proud mom and how she’s scared. She, like so many, likely has dementia – or a version of Alzheimer’s. She has a story.

Many of these people didn’t seem to have family or friends ever come to visit… no one to hear their story. Even those who do, I wonder if we take the time to understand and listen to the stories.

I’m mindful as a health care leader in the senior space about how we are doing in creating pathways to ensure the dignity of our seniors and to hear their stories. As a now 50-year old, I know I haven’t listened well to the stories of the older generations. We need a culture shift in America to focus on the importance of this. Other countries do this really well, if we can stop and learn from them.

Stories are powerful.

Redemption: The conversation is getting personal

My mom is in the hospital, suffering from multiple seizures. As of now, we have no idea why, but know her brain is somehow off track. It’s ugly.

When she comes out she is either elated and child-like, or unfortunately agitated and angry. In the moments we’ve had, she’s gone back to draw up childhood experiences I didn’t even know happened, and also told us how deeply she loved us. The love part may seem normal to some, but for us, not so much.

Without going into too much detail, my mom has suffered from mental illness for her entire adult life that my sister, brother and I have been around to witness. That is up until the last 4 years.

I remember my sister saying that “we finally have a mom,” a mere 4 years ago when I was 46. It is a story of healing and redemption. I love movies, especially the redemption-based love stories where love heals and the heart settles into deep joy. We all have our own movie reel going: the story of our lives. We all experience at some point a range of emotions and of course strive for love and peace.

If you are questioning whether you will ever get to the point of redemption in a relationship with someone you care deeply about, please believe that there is hope. Just 5 years ago, I never thought this was possible and wished someone had shared their story of hope with me. You know that saying, “God is good all of the time, and all of the time God is good.” I believe He is good all of the time and sometimes we need help seeing the forest through the trees, so to speak.

Thank you for allowing me to share my story of redemption. I pray it is healing. If you happen to be a praying person, we’d covet your prayers for God’s will for our mom. She truly is a wonderfully dear person, who didn’t deserve to suffer with mental illness and didn’t choose that. I know that now.

(If for some reason any of you would want to know more about this in hopes that it would help, please reach out. I’d be more than happy to share the details.)

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Priorities

In Matthew Kelly’s classic book ‘The Rhythm of Life,’ he shared that he often sites this prayer during the day, especially during busy times.

His theory is that finding the “rhythm” is largely about assessing and reassessing our resources and energies, ensuring they are in alignment of fulfilling our purpose.

Most of us do this annually, or maybe a few times a year, but daily? That is powerful thinking.

As you launch into February, my prayer is that you will take pause to make sure your efforts, time, actions and focus are in the direction that aligns with you being the best and most amazing version of yourself! I will for sure tuck this one in my proverbial back pocket to ask throughout my week. It’s pure gold in my opinion!

Accelerating growth: The value of strong teachers & mentors

This is a topic I could stay on forever. There are so many great aspects of GROWTH that it could genuinely fill our days.

The good news is that we no longer have the one-room schoolhouse with a small selection of books and references. We literally have more information to consume than we ever could ever reasonably take in.

On Tuesday, I framed up the idea of just getting started on growth. We did this through a conversation on development silly, “stupid” mini-habits. To me, the next part of this discussion is surrounding yourself with wise counsel. As in teachers, mentors, coaches, etc. So to summarize:

  1. Set a Goal
  2. Break that down into small steps so it’s doable and you set yourself up for success.
  3. Seek out the right people to help you WIN!

This may be the most important part because we were designed to be in community. We simply cannot go as far on our own. It took me a long time to realize this in the health/fitness world. I have had a trainer (shout out to the most amazing, encouraging and smart trainer there is)  for almost three years. I am highly disciplined with most things when I put my mind to it (i.e. making a decision), but I just won’t push myself during a workout without someone guiding me. It’s partly because I don’t understand the process of building and maintaining muscle, but it’s also that I just don’t like to be in pain. I’m sure many of you get it.

That’s just one pretty straightforward example. Since I was young, the teachers and coaches were the people who helped me GROW. They are so critical to all areas of our development. I would submit that they still are, but it may look a little different.

Who do you seek out for growth? If you want to be the best in your industry, have you sought out the best to help you? In my assessment, good teachers, coaches, mentors do the following:

  • Champion your success;
  • clear the path if needed (open doors to both knowledge and people that can help you); and
  • yes, hold you accountable to goal achievement.

I also think it’s pretty important that you hold the same value system and enjoy each other’s company. (It’s always best if you have fun in the process.)

Today and this weekend it would be great if you gave some real thought to this. What area(s) in your life are you trying to grow in? (Spiritual, financial, relational, career, physical, etc.) Do you have good teachers or mentors to help you? If not, develop a strategy to seek it out!

Feel free to reach out to me if you’d like to talk further on the subject. It’s a hot topic for me personally!