To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Faith

Spiritual formation is a slow process: Finding the “something more”

I am amazed at how much I have learned over the years. It seems that at some point –– and I have no idea when that is –– you would pretty much know what you are going to know. I can confirm that is, of course, absolutely not true. (Relax, younger readers!) Our journeys can include endless learning, if we choose to make it so.

Today’s post is on the idea that spiritual formation is a slow process. I could easily say the same for our understanding of financial or relationship matters. We evolve, learn, grow, and are able to be better for it.

I am not sure how I got on this idea of “spiritual formation.” Perhaps it started with Rachel Held Evan’s book, “Inspired,” which is a story of how in her 30’s she pretty much started to second guess everything she had learned in church. She wanted “something more” and was willing to be intentional about finding out what that was. She found out that if she really started to go deeper, that the (what she calls) “magical stories” in the Bible make more sense when understood within proper historical background, and context. It feels like, that for the most part, the vast majority of people (including me until a few years ago) thought the stories in the Bible progressed chronologically somehow, which honestly doesn’t even make sense, but they don’t teach you that in Sunday School. There is so much left on the table.

“Spiritual Formation” speaks to the ordinary maturing of our faith in the context of our personal beliefs and values, no matter what those may be. For me, it’s the Christian faith. But again, it stands true regardless. (I should point out here, that I am not using the same spiritual formation term that some religious groups feel is controversial, i.e. trying to suggest a change to the doctrine.)

For me, it is clear that God gave us these amazing human minds, and he wants us to use them so that we can grow and help others grow. The primary form of educating is storytelling in the New Testament and in that, Jesus is often found asking thoughtful questions of the people. This was clearly what he felt was the best way to get them actually “thinking” and exploring the truth and meanings and better yet, how those learnings inform and impact their lives.

Today’s insight is to simply point out that our progress is indeed a lifelong and “slow” process. We have the power to develop our thinking through solid information, reflection, collaboration and prayer. I believe we would evolve in a positive way within our societies, communities, work places and homes if we ask of ourselves to go deeper and begin the long road of learning with the intent to understand and not merely accept all that we hear, read, etc at face value. Praying for you all and our country during this historic week.

Heading into the season with a spirit of prayer & expectation

The saying above is beyond powerful. Let it saturate your soul.

Prayer is a first response. Prayer is a gift that can help us open up so many gifts it’s truly incredible. Prayer offers us a companion to…

  • Show our adoration & gratitude 
  • Intercede for others
  • Seek guidance 
  • Deliver us from self focus
  • Confess our misgivings and concerns 
  • Simply share our heart … (and so much more)

I have unintentionally strayed from a rich prayer life. Upon reflection, it is simply due to allowing life’s everyday distractions to consume me, edging me off center. I found the book “ The Battle Plan for Prayer” in my bedside table last week. It’s been waiting there for me. The book is part of the War Room project, which included a fantastic movie reminding us of the power of prayer. When I was in Columbus for Thanksgiving, my son had a prayer board in his room with various prayers and scriptures pinned up that he wanted to lean into. This was the point of the movie. (The “war” room is essentially the prayer closet.)

I am always fascinated by the ways God speaks, but never surprised. Right in my direct path, two reminders to nudge me toward perhaps the most powerful tool I have ever found in order to center me and give me direction and hope: PRAYER.

As we launch into December, it is the ideal time to lock into what we know is absolutely true for us… Seeking the roots of our life and spending our physical and emotional energy to ensure we finish the year strong and move steadfastly into God’s plan for us in the new year. I want my prayer life to go deep again; to truly start each day with the power of that connection, and never to consider it an add on to my days if time allows. How about you?

My prayer is that you will have one of those holiday seasons that you find yourself taking in wonder at every turn. What a gift this season is!

REWIND! This post is a throwback that feels exactly like what we need this holiday season. Enjoy!

The weight of your attention

This quote –– a line in Ann Voskamp’s “One thousand gifts” video study this week –– captured me.

I’m away from my normal routine for a few days and the gravity of all things encompassing love, gratitude and importance are weighing on my thoughts. This message, so strong, seemed to be delivered for me personally. Like the sunset each night, we can only slow it down by giving it our full attention. What else in life requires this of me right now?

I can’t answer that in this moment but will be diving into the question. It’s a good one. Where is the “weight” or perhaps “energy” best spent? If I turn to God and the wisdom I have always found there… in what areas would I be directed? Is there an area of joy I need to cultivate?

Happy Thanksgiving to each of you! Today I’m leaving you with Ann’s insight. It’s profound, I think. May we all bring our thanks and enter into the moments this season delivers with hearts and minds fully present to the moments. I believe if we do we will somehow be filling our souls with pure joy.

The winding roads of life

Throwing it back to a post from last October that feels like a great mid-week check in. Cheering you on, friends.

God has interesting ways in which He guides us through life, to learn and to connect with great people and of course, to challenge us to be our best selves. To fully achieve our purpose.

Today, I want to share a few insights as we look toward the busy sprint that is the end of the year. I hope this is a reminder to you – as it was to me –to take in the beauty of this busy, sometimes winding, road that we call life.

  1. Beauty can be found everywhere. There is beauty even in life’s side roads that find you wondering why in the world you may have arrived there. Literally, if you set your mind to find the beauty (the good, the positive, the inspiring…) it is indeed there, and often front and center.
  2. God is leading and I am to follow. Those ideas about where, how and what we will be doing at any given stage of our lives are open to change at anytime. If you truly follow His lead, I believe He will use the right people and places and the right time and situations to bring you right where you are meant to be to achieve your highest purpose. Again it is up to us to choose to listen to those promptings.
  3. Finally, stay expectant. Sometimes change can be scary, but I choose not to look at it in that way. Choose instead to find clarity, and know that the right people are placed on the path at just the right time. If we step forward and reach out and do our best work, there will be honor found in the process.

So whether your path today is straight or winding, I hope you will find great beauty all around. Have the best week!

Faith, in action: A powerful reminder that will strengthen us all

Here’s what happened this week. Profound.

I have been fighting for a bit over a week now with vertigo (dizziness) due to a chronic inner ear issue I have that flares up a few times a year. This time, it was much worse. I have fought my whole life with the need to be “in control,” so this inability to function normally absolutely drives me crazy! (Laughable, I know, because we all know how little of that we have. Yet… I persist.)

Life is unpredictable. God often grabs my attention (and this time perhaps pinned me down…) by reminding me that the plans that have been laid out for my life far exceed what I could dream up, initiate or “control.” I’m thankful for this, but for some reason my nature is to hold on tight. All that said, I wasn’t doing too well with this episode of feeling like I was pushed off of the road, so to speak.

I was focused on work on Tuesday afternoon when an intense episode came upon me. It took me aback and I sat there contemplating what to do next (as in, am I even able to get up, walk, and go tell someone?). In comes one of our team members. I happen to know this person is a fierce person of faith so I shared my situation. They moved on for their break and on their way out the door said something like, “I’m happy to pray for you.” That alone was comforting. But wait…

A few minutes later, they came back in and shared that their family was really working on “faith in action” and asked if I minded if they prayed over me quickly. I was more than happy to receive that covering. The whole thing undid me, and I found myself shaken not only by the dizzy spell, but overwhelmed by the fact that another person would take a few minutes to pray a genuinely beautiful and thoughtful prayer over me. I was moved to tears. I remember feeling strong enough to drive the 30 minutes home –– at least in that moment.

The experience was profound. The prayer, yes, but also the story… WOW. How often have I said “I’m praying for you” to someone? How many times did I have the chance to in that very moment either reach out for their hand or otherwise pray with them right at that time or even pick up the phone? You can guess the answer to that.

Faith, in action. This is a simple, yet incredibly powerful way to move to healing…. to love. I’m not sure where this teammate of mine is receiving their wisdom or guidance, but I want more of wherever that came from. If they happen to read this, I hope they know it was life-changing for me and perhaps will be for you as well. Their courage made all of the difference.

I hope this serves you all today and sincerely pray that it will strengthen you as you go into the new month afresh this week!

Step aside, fears: 5 ideas to pursue the good right now

I don’t normally write about faith, and specifically my belief in God, during the weekday posts, but given our current environment it feels important. Someone shared with me that in the Bible there are 366 references to “Do not Fear,” which for 2020, a leap year, is exactly 1 time for each day of the year. Isn’t that interesting?

I have to tell you, fear is real… At first I didn’t really like using that word, but I decided to look it up for the blog and I have to say this sort of resonates: an “unpleasant feeling, triggered by the perception of danger, real or imagined.” Triggered. That is exactly what is happening. And if you are like me, and have a hard time looking away from your phone when you are otherwise not detained by work, a conversation or head down in a project or good book…then you are constantly being triggered from all matter of sources. Sometimes it’s funny images that add levity to the situation, and other times it’s the gripping news coming from hot spots around the world. All said, we have to be careful with what we are feeding ourselves in order to maintain as much peace as is possible.

What approach or idea may be better? My pastor shared the message in the image above on Sunday (online), and it’s written in BOLD in my journal now. The note I wrote to myself is what’s most important to me… Just how do I best pursue that right now?

Pursue defined: To follow… to capture… to chase…  

I can visualize chasing JOY right now! In fact, CAPTURING it and holding it close at every turn. (Side note: To me, God is love and love is joy and pursuing God is in fact chasing after what He desires for us.)

How about some practical ideas on how we can do this? Here are 5, but it’s so much more fun for you all to share your ideas, so please do that below!

  • Make a commitment to sharing what is good and fun! Some of my team members made a game of sending selfies with our “masks” and that was great for bringing joy into the day. One of my college friends sent over pics of her car decorated for a parade her and the other teachers created to drive through their district neighborhoods. That is chasing joy! My son sent me our favorite Twitter feed today:
  • Set a firm limit on how much screen time you will allow yourself… Seriously.
  • Take advantage of this unexpected time. It is a gift. Extra time for your kids, for special projects, for dreaming up ways to serve others.
  • Pump up the music? What’s your all-time favorite band? Music genre (hello ’80s!)? Make a playlist, have a dance party, sing-along or whatever to get your mind moving in a positive direction…Allow yourself to feel the shift in energy.
  • Surround yourself with positive! Positive messages, positive people (you may need to call or reach out to your most positive friend, or the one who always makes you laugh). Be so intentional about this that every day you wake up, commit to pursuing the positive! 

Your turn!

I am praying for our world, our city and for each of you and for your families. You are all a blessing! Let’s pursue service, love and joy – and find our fears step aside.

Simple thoughts Sunday: What’s really important? Let’s “run” there!

Wow, what a week. With the election in full swing, COVID-19 speculation, and every day life rushing through, there seemed to be an onslaught of noise in the universe. I thought it may be me, but I have had enough people corroborate they’re feeling the same. (Maybe I should look up the moon phases…)

All of that led me to today’s short post. We are all set out to “run our race.” I have absolutely always loved this scripture. It conjures up thoughts of being strong, committed, and focused on winning in life. (Not that we always have to win, but I do think we should be all-out dedicated to bringing our best in every moment.) No matter what “noise” is in the world or in our heads, our focus should be on running really well. 

To me that looks like remembering to keep everything in perspective and to bringing our minds and actions back to our point of purpose. If we serve those who God has surrounded us with well, and we move toward the works God points us to, we will indeed be “running there” – or achieving our purpose.

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Be insanely hopeful

Hope is an expectation.

I love the idea of being expectant. Being expectant of more sunshine and less gray skies; of unity instead of division; of love instead of fractured relationships; of optimal health and deep happiness; etc. In the Biblical sense of the word, hope constitutes a confident expectation that God’s promises will come to pass, and that you will indeed receive an answer to prayers and your desires will come to pass.

I love hope. I love insane hope even more. Insane is like, “Yes, this is absolutely going to happen. God is going to show off! He is going to outdo anything my creative mind may have imagined!” Imagine the feeling of barely being able to contain your joy. Can you feel it? “This family vacation isn’t just going to be just fun, but it is going to have a life-changing impact through the conversations we have and the commitment we make to being present.” “I am not just going to finish the race, the hike, the new health goal… I am going to NAIL IT- I am going to not just get by but feel strong and vibrant at the end…” Again, insane hope.

What is your insane hope? Where do you need to think bigger? To believe stronger? To expect great things to happen? What scenarios do you need an extra dose of hope in?

I can think of a few myself. I have always been a glass half-full kind of gal, but I have to be honest: I don’t generally think grand thoughts about what could be. I tend to take a realistic perspective. Perhaps sometimes even leaning into not creating false hopes … maybe I’ve taken that too far. As a girl of faith, I need to grow in this area. I have personally seen God show off, and I suppose that is reason enough to start to believe bigger! 

Let’s be insanely hopeful this week!

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Lean into the word

First of all, isn’t this image terrific? I could sooo use this scene. What about you?

Although today we have so many options to read, listen and receive the “word,” without a lot of intention and focus, diving in and really “leaning” in isn’t that easy. It should be, but let’s be honest — it’s not. Getting away to really soak it in would be fabulous.

One year at the family camp we always went to (shout out to Pine Cove), they had remodeled the rooms, and above my bed was a scripture that essentially said, “he’s got this… you can breathe… be still.” It disarmed me. The scripture reference allowed me to reset. As I went in and out of the room that week, it spoke to me and helped me realize that I often carry around things I really don’t need to.

We all need a reset. I find myself needing them more often as I get older. It never ceases to amaze me that the ancient texts of the Bible can magically point us into the direction we apparently needed to be pointed, and perhaps didn’t even realize.

I am going to do my best to “lean in” this week. If you are able to, let us all know if something stood out to you in the process. I think it just might be powerful.

Here are a few that I kind of love thinking about in the context of resetting.

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still.”

Exodus 14:14

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds.”

Philippians 4:7

“This hope we have is an anchor of the soul. A hope both sure and steadfast.”

Hebrews 6:19

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Staying in the spiritual gym

Just like our bodies need us to focus on building muscles, exercising our cardiovascular systems and eating healthy, our spiritual growth needs a game plan to ensure we are operating optimally. I loved this concept and thought it was worth sharing.

The three key ideas I captured were…

  1. Staying disciplined.
  2. Lifting up the word of God.
  3. Understanding that “resistance” is what makes us stronger (exercising faith).

A simple thought, but powerful nonetheless.

If we are able to stay disciplined in our spiritual life we will be stronger. We will be able to better handle what comes our way and perhaps be more grateful along the path.

If we focus on the truth we find in the word of God, we can be sure our minds don’t get off track and run down a rabbit hole that isn’t speaking life into us. If we can understand that challenges and resistance can help us stretch and grow we will be less frustrated and make meaningful strides. I believe that takes faith, and exercising this is a daily grind. It is a constant commitment to change our thoughts and recognize that God’s plan has us right where we are supposed to be… if we listen, we will know how that plan is supposed to unfold.

Cheering you on this week!

(This is a throwback post to an ever-relevant message. I hope it resonates with you like it does with me.)