To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Faith

Attend to the moment

I haven’t thought about my “one word” for 2020 much this year (that reminder post is coming soon!). This week, it confronted me front and center.

I started Ann Voskamp’s “One Thousand Gifts” study this week* and in session one my journal entry was, “Attend to the moment.” Hmmm… Sounded familiar. So when preparing for this I let it sink in that my “one word” was “available or present.” Digging a little further, one of my 5 intentions for the year was to “Feel the full expression of joy.” I am presuming that I intended doing that by being more present (i.e. “attending to the moment” more often).

I’ve reflected on this and I’ll give myself a bit of grace here and say I have done better than prior years. Partly that is the season of life I find myself in (If you are raising kids still or knee deep in school work or launching a career, this is truly difficult), and partly, it’s due to some great wisdom gleaned from terrific authors who have mentored me in this area via their work (Voskamp, Lyons, TerKeurst).

My dear friend Gretchen and my sister, Lisa, are role models for me by constantly pointing me to God’s beauty all around us –– often sending snapshots of the sunrise or morning walks. Redirecting ourselves to creation –– to immersing ourselves in the magic that is all around us –– takes a bit of intention, but the payoff is tremendous. Attending to the leaves changing colors, the wind carrying them off, and the animals preparing for winter. That alone is just incredible to observe and a reminder of the simplicity and complexity of God’s creation. All of these things… are gifts that God gives us freely if we simply will be aware.

My “Simple Thoughts Sunday” today is a call for us to truly dive into the season at hand. There is a lot of loss around us –– a lot of noise around so many topics, and yet, we can watch each sunset, knowing that God is in control and that tomorrow brings new hope and an opportunity to attend to finding and delivering joy. Praying you all have an incredible Thanksgiving week.

* It coincides with the season, and I assure you, it’s one of the best books you will read- If you aren’t a reader, jump on the video sessions that started last week, so you can catch up easily.

Clarity in the chaos

Sometimes this “clarity” happens after the “rumble” but often it happens right in the middle of chaos. It’s as if the heavens opened and sent down a signal (through a friend sharing their story, a headline, sermon, or some other message…). This new information helps you develop a narrative you can understand and create sanity around the situation you are faced with. Sometimes, this revelation offers you just the grace you need to push through, develop a go-forward plan, or perhaps just enough energy to allow you to sit quietly and listen attentively for the next step.

Clarity is found in that listening, and listening is where we find the the ability to ground ourselves.

I am finding that the season that we find ourselves in calls for us to become “grounded” again. To call on our “roots,” if you will, to provide us the viability we need to continue to thrive. Most conversations I have on any given day, include that people are feeling tired and left with no more to give in this year of unknowns. The very idea of waking up everyday and not having a clear view of the road ahead has taken its toll.

The very definition of “grounded” (thank you Google), is “…referring to someones physical and mental state of being confident and sure of oneself… having a strong connection with who you are, and where you are going.” THAT is generally where we find ourselves in January when we make our lists of goals, get motivated by books and messages across our environments, put on our running shoes and show up ready to go after our dreams with gusto. This year, the race fell off course around week 10 and we have been doing all we can to adjust and adapt since then I’m pretty proud of everyone I’m around for their resilience, although I’m keenly aware that the toll is probably not at all calculated yet.

The need has never been greater, regardless of your age, to do what we can to use these final 6 weeks to center and ground ourselves. We need to be intentional and find that extra time to seek joy in all manner of ways. Taking the time for a cup of coffee and deep conversation with a loved one may create a depth you haven’t had in years. These weeks offer us the opportunity to be intentional if we take the time to figure out what might get us to a place of renewal in a chaotic cycle of life.

I am personally praying for all of us today, that we might find ourselves immersed in silent moments that offer to us finding our roots and being refreshed and reminded of what’s truly important in life. It really doesn’t matter what tomorrow brings, because God has given us exactly what we need for today. I hope we will all find clarity in the midst of chaos and a feeling of solid grounding that we don’t even understand.

47 Days: A plan to finish the year strong

47 Days. That’s the magic number until the page turns again. This one into a year of great expectation –– 2021. But a lot can happen in 47 days to make this one count even more so we should be alert. Each and every day is a gift, as we have learned this year.

During one of my Peloton bike rides this week, Alex Toussaint –– who I think is a flat-out amazing instructor due to his outrageous ability to encourage –– cited the phrase in the photo above…

My thought: Let’s find it… (rhythm, groove and pace). Let’s find it today and let’s recommit to it everyday… Let’s countdown the next 47 days by listening to every bit of uplifting music and reading and watching only what positions us for positive and forward momentum. Let’s focus our last thoughts and actions each day with a focus toward building the energy all around us.

This post is for Sunday and as I often like to do as a grounding exercise, I turn to the scripture for guidance and seeking wisdom or discernment. Throughout the last few weeks, the recurring message is two-fold. The first is on the need to serve those in need. To turn any attention from my own personal challenges and those the world imposes, to the real needs that literally surround me. “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,” (Matthew 25:35)

Let’s expand that … “For I was sad, For I was anxious, for I was overwhelmed…” You get the idea. These words are a call for us to look up and to see that no matter if it’s a smile, a kind word, physical help or sharing our resources…there is a need at every corner, and we are just the people to do that.

The second message has been the initial focus of this blog… the need for us all to SHIFT into all that is good and plentiful and brings gratitude. The scripture, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- If anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things.” Philippians 4:8) We have 47 days remaining… let’s finish strong, let’s finish with locked arms toward building community and shining light in every dark corner that we approach.

Sending my love and prayers.

(Mom update: She remains under Hospice care at a local nursing home. She is holding her own and we honor each day and trust in knowing that God will carry forward the perfect plan. Your love and prayers have been what has and continues to hold us all up through this season. We are blessed beyond. Thank you.)

Simple Thoughts Sunday: What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?

Happy Sunday! It’s Memorial Day weekend and no doubt most of us are thrilled to have an extra day off for rest and refreshment. It is good to remember that Memorial Day is designated for us to honor those who lost their lives serving in active military duty. Many also use this day to celebrate loved ones that have gone on before us. The occasion sometimes brings solace and sometimes brings loved ones around the dinner table via backyard BBQs.

What is most important this year – and every year – to me is that we focus on what is beautiful and honorable in this one life we have. Those moments that are made possible because of the sacrifices of those who paved the way for this generation.

I wrote this phrase down a few weeks ago, and it likely came from a podcast or someone pushing others toward inspiration.:“What is the most beautiful thing you have EVER seen?” I have held onto it for a bit, feeling that there are so many ways to answer the question. My mind went to the depth of our country, of those serving and protecting us. It then went easily to Greece and the almost unbelievable beauty of the water and white buildings and then to a myriad of options – my grandparents holding hands while walking into church, babies and toddlers giggling non-stop, fields of flowers and nature trails leading to the water… I could go on for hours. After some thought, I chose the image above. 

The picture is from our family mission trip to South Africa in 2012 led by the One Life organization. This is of my son and a beautiful child he was playing with. The look on his face is beautiful. The moment was beautiful. This is what joy looks like to me – unbounded joy is beautiful. It’s the most beautiful thing no doubt.

We went because I wanted to expose my boys to different cultures. However, I am 100% sure the greatest impact was on me. I could not get the scripture, “The harvest is plenty, the worker’s are few,” out of my mind for months and it still pops up frequently. Always pushing me to ask myself if what I am even doing is enough. There is so much work to do both inside of our country and outside, but the contrast in true need can only be found by firsthand interaction with other cultures. This work is an opportunity for all of us to find, seek and create beauty. To serve one another. 

Today we honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. We are all here today because of the sacrifices of these men and women and their families. May God always help us to hold deeply and provide us heart’s to serve others. That notion brings beauty.

Simple Thoughts Sunday: God meets you at the level of your expectation

Rewind! This is a throwback post that was speaking to me this week!

I heard this strong message last week and it captured me. The very thought that God meets us where we are is not only comforting, but galvanizing. Whether we are in a mode of praise and gratitude or on a path of seeking and searching… He is there. If we are boldly moving forward with fresh thinking and new plans… He is there. If we find ourselves in a matter of hours (or moments) circulating through emotions of love and struggle… He will also meet us there if we are open to Him.

If we, for some reason, cannot get to our faith, we can build on a committed focus in 3 key areas (although I’m sure there are many more – so consider this a start):

  1. Surrounding ourselves with a community of people who are able to lift us up and provide both celebration and accountability.
  2. Prayer. No matter if it’s a two word prayer (i.e. “help me”) or a specific and verbose prayer – prayer is POWERFUL.
  3. Reading, listening to or watching messages that contain scripture and teachings that encourage our faith and help us grow in our understanding. One great benefit of our generation is that we have access to almost any type of media available that helps us however we learn best. I love that.

I hope that your faith will grow this week and that it is truly a week of happiness and extreme joy! Let’s all raise our expectations and allow God to step in with whatever we need right now.

“I didn’t know I was hungry”

Have you ever found out something profound about your life after that season was over? Rachel Held Evans started chapter 19 of her fantastic book, ‘Searching for Sunday,’ with this profound concept that stuck with me instantly: “I didn’t know I was hungry.”

Let’s unpack this concept a bit more…

  • Have you ever been in a relationship but didn’t feel loved? Recognized? Seen? Heard?
  • Have you ever been in a room, office, church or otherwise full of people, and felt alone?
  • Have you ever had such an uneasiness that you couldn’t “find the feeling” that was keeping you unsettled and stealing your peace?

That feeling is hunger. In some cases we are starved.  Starved for the basic needs that sustain us as humans: love, community, peace. The sentence blew my mind. Have you ever been hungry and didn’t even know it or have the capacity or knowledge to “name it?”

I have had a season like that. In fact, if I allow myself to “go there” or dig deep enough, I’ve had a few. I have to laugh a bit because a few years back, my son said, offhand, “Mom, I could have told you that.” I had to seek outside counseling to hear this truth and right under my own roof my son recognized certain patterns. He recognized I was “hungry,” but I sure didn’t know it.

In fact, that counselor pointed out that we are either pursuing, running from or staying within the moment. I am either a pursuer or a runner. Perhaps most of us are? (Oh, how I’d love to have the knowledge of a good therapist! Thank God for those people!) Until the last few years, I did not even know that the staying or lingering with the discomfort – or perhaps even the comfort – of a relationship or situation was a “thing” and really essential to understanding and growth. When she pointed it out, it was a light bulb moment. It was in this understanding that I could begin to recognize moments of hunger.

One of the things I like to do in these short little insights, is to spur us to think deeper in a wild attempt to better understand ourselves. I feel like perhaps we can serve others better if we do so.

Have the best week! I hope this post helps move us toward joy and toward a life full of everything God has in store for us. I love that notion of moving toward all that is good and hopeful.

The hardest job you will ever love: Mother’s Day 2020

Sitting here preparing to write, I was a bit perplexed on where to focus – and then I fell upon Ann’s blog yesterday, which is simply magical if you ask me. I have so many authors I love, but Ann Voskamp has one of the most incredibly impactful & poetic voices of our generation. Here are some quotes on this topic of motherhood that truly are profound… good conversation starters (if you will) for today’s blog post.

“Parenting is never about how your kids turn out. It’s always and only about how you keep turning toward your kids and their Maker.”

She urges us to keep “turning toward.” I love that. My interpretation… to turn in, to lean in, to listen and take it ALL deep into our souls. (Try is really what I mean… try to listen to understand). To experience the full onset of the messy days and celebratory moments is really what motherhood is all about, isn’t it? It’s literally ALL of it: the tough conversations, the midnight hours of fever and illness, the conflict, the sitting together silently waiting for someone to speak, and sometimes shared tears (or silent tears). And of course the very best parts – the dancing in the kitchen or on wedding reception floors, traveling & experiencing our world together, the car rides to practice, the curbside coaching moments and the bedtime rituals that fill our homes with love. The most critical to me: the constant refocus of myself and the boys to their Maker. I have found that to be the single element of truth in everything good and every struggle. Re-centering…often daily on God somehow brings it all forward as growth and goodness if we allow it.

“The work of every parent is to give the best they know how now, and the work of every child is to forgive their parents the best they can now.”

Does that just resonate? We as parents do what we think is best in the moment. Sometimes we know within minutes it was not our most shining moment, and sometimes we don’t know until years later that our words or actions were an epic fail. Nevertheless, we live out the days truly trying to do the best with what we have in that moment, be it knowledge, resources or emotional capacity. Someday our kids will understand that… but not quite yet. We live in that gap generally.

And then there is this part of the child forgiving “the best they can now.” Here’s the thing I love about that statement, “The best they can now:” We all… in every time of our lives, have certain levels of capacity to forgive, to give, to love, to whatever. Our capacity ebbs and flows and is largely dependent on the strength of our spiritual life in that season of our lives. We must remember that we all do what we can for the most part. Forgiveness, therefore is essential for both the parent and child. Grace – early and often!

“Motherhood is never about training your children to be so good they won’t ever fall, it’s about letting them see you fall in love every day with a good God.”

If I don’t do anything else in my life as a mother, and hopefully some day a grandmother, I hope that they will see me fall in love every day with a good God. It’s something I am committed to and fully believe that all levels of good, stressful, scary and beautiful moments can be worked thru if we all stay focused on this truth. Being focused on God is central to Motherhood for me so far…. directing and redirecting ourselves and our children in the ways we know how.

Offering deep thanks today for my mother who in this season is the very best cheerleader and spiritual supporter. Also so much love to the many mother figures I have had in my life. God has always provided the most amazing women to step in and meet me right where I needed their love and support and I am forever grateful. If you get a moment today, reaching out to some of those would be a truly wonderful things for us all to do! Sending love to you all.

Strengthen your spirit today

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1

What a lovely scene in the picture above. The sun and the strength of the thoroughbred painted across a beautifully calm pasture.

The Kentucky Derby would have been this weekend. The picture is from the Claiborne Farm Instagram account. Claiborne is a part of the “Derby” story with over a century of success in raising up the most-beautiful and incredibly-fast horses. I love their history, attributing their success to “adhering to the best principles of stewardship of the land, the horses, and the sport…” Stewardship. Today’s post is around this idea of how we “steward” our light… What we offer up to our own souls and those God has surrounded us with on our journey. So, how well are you stewarding today?

By the way, a quick Google search helps frame up this role of a “steward” as: “A person who looks after the passengers on a ship for example… A person responsible for/managing…” Essentially, a person faithfully looking after what God has given him or her to protect and even grow.

Shaping the path of any given day requires a commitment that we make to ourselves. We make this silently, in the quiet of our meditations or prayers as we go to bed and rise each day. The thoughts that we allow to run wild as we drive, or walk or otherwise navigate our cities and communities. Pastor Adam Hamilton shares that he asks each morning that God would be with him on his mission for the day. I find that to be profound. I find that any power to steward well comes from God speaking through me, whether by word or action.

We have this enormous opportunity to “be the light.” As we go into this week and this season, let us be mindful that this is a gift and that it requires a steadfast dedication as it has for centuries on end, for everything and everyone from thoroughbred horse breeding operations, to NFL football clubs, to local business owners; to teenagers, seniors and every age in between… We collectively can bring the brightest light together if we choose. I pray that our actions bring forward the most powerful joy and light to all around our community.

The power of now: What is really essential?

The power of the city. Collective unity. Buildings standing tall next to one another as if they are locked arm and arm. In many ways, they actually are. Dependent on one another for sustainability, for community building, for the generation of work for families and societies. The visual is strong and also offers inspiration if we will allow that to filter through our minds.

Our church hosted a virtual sisterhood/girls night last night. It was really, really good. My takeaway question that pastor Liz (@hillsongkc) asked us to consider: What truly is essential right now? As we rethink our lives and patterns, can we stop and ask ourselves what is really essential? In other words: Have I prioritized my one life as I would if I could start over? Redesign and level set against my values and goals? Is what I’m doing right now, or what I have been doing actually bringing me closer to or farther away from what I hope for my life to stand for? What seeds have I been planting? Are they the ones that will eventually produce the harvest I desire for my life? Are they what my family needs in this season?

She shared a personal example, in that she feels God is calling her to invest more time with her middle child. I love that, because I have found that when I listen to God’s promptings, I usually receive a nudge in one direction or another. Someone’s name will pop up out of nowhere it seems, or clear messages will shine right through someone sharing a personal story. Heck, even a billboard may speak to me.

So, where do you need to sow right now?

The image above, to me, was about prayer. I feel that God is saying, “prayer is power… stay with it… stay strong with a constant posture and persistence toward its strength. Stay in prayer over those I have placed in your path, especially your children and eventually their children… don’t let up….don’t get distracted…” I want to sow in prayer and with a sincere request for a listening ear and willing heart to pursue God’s direction and not my own.

What is essential? What actions – what prayers – do I need to take to allow our family to grow, flourish and serve each other and our community in the best way?

Have a powerful week my friends. We need collective unity right now.

The forecast is beautiful and I pray you feel the sunshine deeply rooted in every step you take.

Shake it off

I asked one of my dear friend’s at work what she felt I should blog about today (what does the universe need right now?), and she emphatically said that I should use this video of our dog, Waffles.

Within moments, Wonder Woman (aka Ashley Jost, who is my right-hand blog professional), quickly made it happen to the tune of this great little clip from the one and only Taylor Swift. I tried to not like Taylor a few years back, but when her songs come on I find myself catching the vibe in a heartbeat. She’s fun and her spirit is contagious. The music lyrics here in “Shake it off” are right on point.

We all know the truth is that with this situation and with many others, we can’t simply “shake it off” completely, but we can identify the weights that bear us down and work to take a few off, replacing them with better energy and more positive or useful thinking. Taking a hard look at what is keeping us up at night, or causing that sick feeling in our stomach, is good for the heart and soul. One of the Twitter feeds I read last night, (@brokeymcpoverty) shared some of the most helpful content I have ever seen. It was an ask that went something like this, “To help make things a little easier – and noting that therapy is a luxury – ask some who are seeing a therapist (or virtually seeing) to spread the wealth and share their best tips.” Here are a couple that I felt were pure gold:

  • “Do you have to sink or swim? What if you just float?” (My fav!)
  • “Capture mood logs” (Journaling is a proven good idea to help process thoughts and experiences.)
  • “Lean into being uncomfortable. Fighting it is like fighting a wave in the ocean, you’ll end up exhausted and possibly feel worse.”
  • “Give equal space to the thought of ‘what if it all works out?'”
  • “Recognize that the whole world is grieving. You can’t expect to be the most productive you’ve ever been just because you have more free time. Everything about your life has drastically changed, be easy on yourself.”

So much good here and such a marvelous tie in to “shake it off.”

I know like me, many of you are doing your best to pray, to “call in” the positive energy and to advance our thinking so that we can come up with better approaches and solutions to dealing with this change. We are all in this together, so by all means, please share any wisdom you may find useful with other readers.

Depending on where you read this it may look like there are only a few readers, there are actually quite a few. In February there were 3,014 people reached through the blog with 550 engaging in some way. My goal with each post is for it to impact one person, and sometimes that person may only be myself, but still I forge ahead knowing this is what God has called me to do.

I share that with the ask that you share your thoughts early and often so that we can collectively share insights that can together shift our world to the positive. So much light to share and we need everyone on board!

So much love for you all!