To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Faith

Birthdays are worth celebrating!

blog_735001_2807093_1447301272For those of you reading this thank you! I totally get it if folks skip over this one, because it’s personal. Personal as in the true joys of my life. That is inspiring if you ask me.

I started out my health care career in the OB/GYN field and for those of you that don’t know, those are the wonderful physicians that help us bring new life into our world. In that space, I learned quickly that birthdays are a big deal. Life is beyond precious and worth every candle, every bit of annoying confetti andevery good ol’ loud and obnoxious birthday song – cha cha cha!

So for today, I celebrate my boys’ birthday and share three wishes for them and for all of you:

  1. PURE JOY. As we climb the inevitable mountains of life, that we always remember to stop and soak up God’s beauty as it can be found in everything from the simplest dandelion that pops up in the spring to the most complicated of all, which is the beauty found in the complexity of our first breath and the intricate wiring of our human bodies.
  2. LOVE. “And the greatest of these is love.” To find love everywhere: In our families, love that sustained us as babies (and still today), childhood friends, teachers of all kinds that have been a part of our growth, the well wishes and smiles of strangers, the prayers of generations past, the first kiss and the loves of our lives. My great hope is that you will see these, recognize them, cherish them andlove fiercely.
  3. MAKE A DIFFERENCE. My belief of course is that we were all were put here in our generation, at this very moment in time to serve and to improve our world. Through our life work, our family, career and community, we have opportunities of need surrounding us. My wish is that we will reflect often on how we do this well and show our passion and act often.

Happy Birthday dear boys! Here’s to YOUR BEST YEAR YET!

Simple Thoughts Sunday: The best of you

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We all have our best, our own interpretation of happiness and success.

My encouragement today is that we need to be mindful of our personal joy and health so that we can be sure that we are giving those we love, those that need us, the best of us! 

What comes to mind when you think about being the best you? 

For me, it’s driving toward fulfilling God’s plan for my life, giving others the gifts he gave me to share and doing so in full health. (That’s a start at least…)

Have a crazy great week! It’s the boys’ birthday Thursday so I’m all about missing the two that are away and cherishing the moments with Joe while he’s here… CHEERING YOU ALL ON!  

Bold thinking

blog_732335_2801591_1446515295WE ARE CALLED TO BE BOLD.

We are called to make the most of our life. Our gifts. Our passions. To change the world we live in for the better. Being bold requires bold thinking. 

Bold thinking is different than our everyday thinking because it makes us anxious. It moves us out of our comfort zone and makes our heart race. Most of the time, when we begin to think boldly, we back away quickly due to these uncomfortable feelings.

I propose that we come up with a game plan to push through the adrenaline and into the realm of what is possible.

A “thinking” mindset is where we find inspiration. Getting this “flow” of thoughts generally needs to be intentional. We can literally go months and maybe years without getting into this mode if we don’t set up a plan.

blog_732335_2801592_1446515295Rock climbing/hiking is a great place to push yourself and get into that “thinking” mindset. Over the weekend I got to do a little hike through Red Rock Canyon, and although it was only a couple of hours, the very act of exerting myself a bit and getting out of my routine refreshed my mind and set me on a path to do some thinking.

Honestly, I need to be out there for a few days to get where I want and need to go mentally, but the point is it doesn’t take much to get you into this place where you can actually think. I mean really think. Almost everywhere you look there are beautiful parts of our cities, our homes, to help get us into this “thinking” mindset.

I have a friend that does a personal retreat about once every two months. It’s a Saturday morning at a local park, but I admire her a ton for this.  I need to take her lead and follow suit…

I don’t know about you, but I have so much I want to do to honor the people and places God has put in my path at home, work and in my community…To do that I want to be BOLD in my thinking so that I can act BIG! I hope you’ll join me! 

 

Simple Thoughts Sunday

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Bold in our thinking, our priorities, our actions, our intentions, our love, our prayers.

Just imagine what could be achieved if we all were to be as bold as possible? You know, we were truly called to be bold: To use the amazing gifts that God gave us, and to step in and be the hands and feet of Christ and serve others to improve our world.

What can you do this week to showcase boldness? Pray bigger and broader, then watch what happens.

Take on October with passion

blog_724556_2788721_1444097811Today’s blog is meant to shine a light on all of those who have battled, are battling or are part of team fighting breast cancer. 

I’m sure, or I hope, you know that all across America, October brings awareness to breast cancer!

I am going to highlight my friend Denise Henning, although I know she is simply one of the many ladies and families I know that have demonstrated great courage and, well, flat out passion while conquering this disease.

Denise in this case represents the true thinking behind the idea of “taking on October.” Taking it fully like you wouldn’t believe.

Denise had her first breast cancer diagnosis several years ago. It came, went, came back with a vengeance and repeat. It is difficult to understand the ‘whys’ of this, but one thing is for certain: her boys have a mom that is providing an amazing example of what it looks like to take on something with passion! Her passion = her boys.

Here are three ways Denise shows us how it’s done:

  1. Don’t take no for an answer! We have seen Denise take on a diagnosis that wasn’t favorable and get right down to the point where she couldn’t breathe, and yet, she continued strong and found another doctor who would offer a different approach, a different path, and an option that might give her the time she needed while researchers figured out how to conquer this disease. This take no prisoners attitude – being relentless even in great pain –  my friends, this is courage.

    What in your life do you need to ‘second guess’ that first answer or assessment?  Where can you be relentless in pursuit of something greater than yourself?

  2. Power through with great faith! I am sure when Denise was taken to church as a young girl, she couldn’t have dreamed of the challenges she’d face in her life. Thankfully in the process, she was given a seed of faith that is a full-blown, giant of faith today. Day after day, Denise exercises her faith muscle. She has given this fight to God, and yet as she is merely human like us all, she has a choice to make each day and she chooses to put on a smile, get dressed, get moving and show up. The truth is, she shows us all power by these daily choices to put her faith first and fight on!
  3. Focus on a cause greater than yourself! While many people have a hard time taking their minds off of their pain during these journeys, Denise is focused on saving lives through raising money for AEDS to be placed in Kansas City ballparks via the Tim Henning Memorial Foundation. Denise’s husband passed away three years ago of a heart attack while at ball practice with their boys. As you have seen, Denise is pretty darn special, through all of this she truly wants to leave a legacy for her boys that will outlive both her and Tim. I believe that a life worth living is one where we fully give back.

What can you focus on today that is greater than yourself? There are so many great things to do, from baking for an elderly neighbor or something much larger. I am confident we can all find a way to make a difference this month!

Take on October, my friends! And Denise, thank you for showing us how it’s done. We are forever grateful!

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Celebrations change our perspective

blog_722549_2785436_1443487062As promised, we are sticking with the theme of celebration. Why take the time? Here are some thoughts to get your mind focused:

  1. Celebrations allow us to call out the positive in life. God knows we have enough daily challenges or nuisances to drag us down,but only if we let them!
  2. Celebrations ensure we are focusing on others! This is a pretty simple known fact. Taking the focus off of ourselves is a key to happiness.
  3. Our lives are short and it’s a shame to simply let the days go by without cherishing the wins and those we care about! Enough said.

Here are some simple ideas of who to celebrate to get your thinking started…

  • That co-worker who cracks you up or simply brightens your days: You know who you are Coretta Paige and Darci Evans, really, could you be more genuinely kind? LOVE THAT!
  • Your college roommate that you haven’t seen in 20 years and you think of them weekly: Debbie Briggs, you were the best!
  • That teacher who you can’t believe puts in the hours and passion and makes our next generation have the opportunity to THRIVE: Rebekka Wampler, you are unbelievable.
  • Your best friend’s half birthday: Lisa, yours isn’t until December, but I celebrate you everyday!  What an honor to be your sister. 
  • A friend’s child that you have developed a bond with over the years: Connor Luchtefeld, I am coming at you this week to celebrate what a terrific young man you are becoming!

I hope this post gets you thinking. I am thankful for all of my readers and I toast to each of you! Have an awesome week!

I want to be the best

blog_716543_2773928_1441318920“I wanted to be the best, not the best female.”  Another great quote from the Women Who Mean Business luncheon last Friday.   Isn’t that great? Isn’t that how we should be thinking?  We want to be the best person God designed us to be, using OUR GIFTS, OUR CONTRIBUTIONS…

It’s so interesting to me, that no matter what your age, our society wants to compare and contrast against others. This happens in the school yard, the work place and even the nursing home.   My mom can tell you stories!

While there may be some merit in comparisons to some degree, the truth is, we all have unique passions and interests that drive us to achieve our personal best.

Today, I wanted to give my readers this simple thought.

How can I use my passions and talent to be MY BEST to serve others? 

Beautiful Chaos! Part 3

blog_712171_2766195_1439864114For those of you following this closely, THANK YOU for sticking with me!  Sunday’s are designed to be focused on the spiritual side of living a LIFE OF EXCELLENCE. I don’t know about you, but my story of “beautiful chaos” always (and I do mean always) ends up with God being square in the center.  Even though I am 47 years old, I feel like I am being constantly reminded to “be still and listen”- I have never been good at quieting my soul. Can anyone identify with that?

I know in my soul that God is leading and I am simply a character He is using to help elevate and improve our world.  I know that by enduring some tough situations, He refines me and I am better able to be the person I am designed to be.  To be a better listener, more empathetic, a better friend, and more equipped.  They say He uses our tests to create our testimony. That’s proven true.  It is much easier to walk through a situation with someone who has been there before!

As we wrap up the week, I hope this small message will remind you that no matter how messy and chaotic our lives can be, He is still there, speaking to us and creating beauty in the most unexpected ways. He chooses us and you my friend are QUITE BEAUTIFUL!

Praying for you and yours to have an amazing week!

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Diversity. Why It’s Important In Our Communities!

blog_709678_2763045_1439250945“If we can change our mindset from “Hey, our goal is simply to put the best person in the job” to “Hey, our goal is simply to put the best team in place,” we will have accomplished a great deal on improving company performance. And we will have accomplished a great deal on increasing opportunity and diversity.”

– Sallie Krawcheck, Chair of Ellevate Network, Former President of Global Wealth & Investment Management, a division of Bank of America. (In other words… IMPRESSIVE BACKGROUND)

TEAMWORK is dependent on DIVERSITY.  Think about it, it’s easy to grasp in sports teams, right?  We can’t have 5 point guards on the court, a field of strikers on the soccer field, or a bunch of defensive lineman on the gridiron.   It simply doesn’t work. We need speed, agility, size, intimidation, and a multitude of other skills.  As every good coach knows, in order to truly succeed we need a team driven toward a unified goal of success.

Today, look at your roster, do your community “teams” (think church, non-profit work, playdates for your children, etc…) represent a diverse group that will ultimately make you  or your family/friend group stronger and better?  If not, take the step today to consider a plan to grow your diversity in the process,increase the likelihood you will make the IMPACT God desired for you!  

Today is short, because honestly, this isn’t difficult. It’s simple and we need to embrace it and ensure it happens where it depends on us!  I leave you today with a great quote from the famous coach Vince Lombardi, who frankly couldn’t have said it better.

“INDIVIDUAL COMMITMENT TO A GROUP EFFORT – THAT IS WHAT MAKES A TEAM WORK, A COMPANY WORK, A SOCIETY WORK, A CIVILIZATION WORK.”

Diversity Makes Us All Better!

CHANGE YOUR MINDSET TO PUT THE BEST TEAM IN PLACE!blog_709670_2763031_1439250228
“If we can change our mindset from “Hey, our goal is simply to put the best person in the job” to “Hey, our goal is simply to put the best team in place,” we will have accomplished a great deal on improving company performance. And we will have accomplished a great deal on increasing opportunity and diversity.”

– Sallie Krawcheck, Chair of Ellevate Network, Former President of Global Wealth & Investment Management, a division of Bank of America. (In other words… IMPRESSIVE BACKGROUND)

This is a topic near and dear to my heart!  I know first hand that Sallie is right! No matter if you are talking intelligence, social ability, income, or race, we all tend to run to the part of the room where folks look and act like ourselves. Science shows that humans are not the only creatures that do this. It’s pretty much every species! If you think about it, no one has probably seen a roly poly hangin’ with a group of ants. It doesn’t happen naturally my friends!

The clear problem with that is it doesn’t allow for the push and pull needed to grow and to make us our best. Spending time with folks from all walks of life is what gives us a more clear point of view in order to optimize our thinking and be our best selves. Things always appear different when you stand back a few feet.

God gave us humans the amazing capabilities to THINK!  So, while the roly polys and the ants likely won’t change, we can, and have a CHOICE and PRIVILEGE to do just that.  I am providing a terrific link below that sums up nicely the top 10 positive RESULTS we can expect from making this a part of our everyday mindset!   This is a work focused list but make no mistake about it, this is true in our personal lives, communities, and homes! We need to make DIVERSITY a priority!  Later this week I will focus on DIVERSITY as a priority outside of the workplace so stay tuned!

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/labor/news/2012/07/12/11900/the-top-10-economic-facts-of-diversity-in-the-workplace/