To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Inspiration

Airplane mode: ON

Happy July y’all.

It’s July 2, and therefore the perfect time to throw on the airplane mode feature on our phones, and (as much as we can) implement that idea into our lives.

I’ve been writing the blog now for four years. Two years ago, I decided not to write during the month of July. The downtime creates space to think, pray, read, reflect and hopefully be inspired in my writing. That is the intention I’m setting!

This year I am going to push out some inspirational messaging that I heard recently on Peloton. I purchased one of their bikes not too long ago, and it has been an incredible experience. While I won’t blog – although I’m sure I have plenty to say about the great content – I will focus on what I feel is a simple and powerful message during my regular posting days. I hope it will add a bit of fun to your summer.

It is such an honor to serve you all with these short thoughts and I am so grateful for your support. My prayer is that you too will go on metaphorical airplane mode. Look around and savor the joy in this season. What a gift we have been given to live out what God has provided us with.

Have a wonderful 4th of July celebration this week! Go America!

We have the power to choose

Today’s post is a throwback from 2017 that offers a simple reminder: We have the power to choose.

Choose a chaotic or calm approach? How do I really want my home and life to feel? To look?

Choose to make this a terrific summer, or choose for your days to be the same?

Choose to create a plan to make a difference, or not?

Choose to take action to achieve your dreams, or watch them pass you by?

Choose to save for that great trip, or keep stripping away funds via Starbucks runs and too much frivolous spending?

Choose to look up and smile more, enjoy the beauty, or walk around with your head down looking at your latest text/Instagram post/Facebook feed?

This is just a reminder that you get to choose. I love that… I for one welcome the reminder, and I hope you do, too! Cheering you on!

Go ahead… Drop some balls

The New York Times on Sunday had a terrific article titled, Work-Life Balance is a Myth, by Tiffany Dufu. I loved the approach in the article, driven around answering the hard question of “what really matters?”

I sometimes think of this as “what is my Best Yes?” which I stole from the namesake of Lysa TerKeurst’s book. So what does this mean? It means asking: Do I really need to go to that social gathering after work? Do I really want to stay out late on Friday, ( or would I rather have a robust Saturday morning?) Should I take the time to pick out a meaningful card for a dear friend’s birthday, or can I wing it and buy one on the way to the party? What is the best use of my time right now – a walk in nature to clear my head or jumping on another call to push through on being more productive?

There are no wrong answers. What is best for you, at this present time in your life, is what matters.

Here’s an excerpt from the article that I found to be both a simple and meaningful way to start figuring this out …

“– try this visualization exercise adapted from the book, ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ (Side note: That book is a classic must-read. In fact, I would go as far to say it should be required high school or college reading.)

Imagine three people eulogizing you at your funeral. What would they say about you? What do you hope they would say about you? Write this down.

Now, ask yourself: Are you on the path to becoming the person they describe? If not, maybe you’re not putting your energy into what’s the most important to you.”

Here’s where the “drop the ball” idea rolls in: Once you know what really matters to you, you can assess your current calendar and how your time and energy are being saturated. Once you do this, it all begins to come together, and somehow… magically, you can then take a discerning look at how you are investing your time and decide which balls you can – or rather should – drop. (If you are like me… there are atleast a few… let’s call them, “mis-prioritized” balls.)

What balls can you drop? Hopefully over the next few days you get a smile on your face when you purposely decide to drop a ball or two. Your joy and wellness are sure to accelerate when you do.

Have the best weekend!