To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Fun

Make Summer count

Summer! I absolutely loved yesterday morning with the cooler temps and a neighborhood that literally seemed like everyone was outside. I loved last week, with the hotter temps, driving by local pools and seeing the children literally loving these moments of bliss. Childhood surely has the best of all worlds. It’s true, “adulting” is hard.

Here’s the thing though, we all get to choose how we want to “adult.” We get to choose (for the most part) our weekend plans and how we might enjoy the longer weekday nights

So, I really don’t want to be the one to state the obvious, but we have about eight weekends left of summer. (Meaning before the schools begin to open and the general pace accelerates from what seems like 20 mph to 100 mph in no time.)  We get to create, design, craft and author our moments. Isn’t that so cool? So, what will you do…

Decide you will make no PLANS on any Saturday?

Organize a patio “lunch or brunch” with your favorite people at least once a week (maybe 3 is better?)?

Sneak out to a park and find a swing and act like a child again… wind catching you as you pump your legs into the air?

Grab your bike and make your way to the local coffee or ice cream shop for a summer treat?

Sit outside and simply listen to nature’s call?

Take a long drive to the country, visiting small towns and all of their charm?

Absolutely one has to be at the lake… I hope you all love that as much as I do.

I could go on and on. My recommendation is to give some thought now as to just what the ideal summer might be for you, and make it happen. I hope you have a glorious day and that you do what you can to MAKE IT COUNT.

Simple Thoughts Sunday: As the season starts, this is a great thought!

What a great reminder, and a needed one.

In the gospel of Matthew (18:3) we are instructed that we need to become like a child to enter heaven. To me, that means to truly understand the world as it was intended and live it out in its full glory. As the season starts, we can choose this option and be absolutely filled with WONDER. The experiences that surround our lives generally dilute the way we view the world.

What if we could truly approach the rest of 2017 with the excitement of a child? What if we limit distractions, judgement and responding in a way that doesn’t fill us with joy? (And if we do have a tantrum… let’s keep it short and sweet!)

I love these two little girls and hope to emulate their “fun” spirits starting… now! Anyone want to join in?

Simple Thoughts Sunday: It’s a wonderful world!

It’s Sunday and I can’t wait for you to see this video! My sister sent it to my yesterday and I’m so happy she’s letting me share it with you all here! This little gal sings one of my favorite songs in an incredible way. Along with that, it happens to be a pretty great Sunday insight for us all… It is a WONDERFUL WORLD! We have to keep that thought front and center. As you go into the week, find beauty in every moment… I believe it literally surrounds us if we are willing to stop and soak it in.

Now, watch this crazy-fun video from this beauty of a young soul! Pass this one on, because this world for sure needs more of this type of inspiration.

It’s simple, really. Create some fun!

(Photo creds: Unsplash.com)

(Another 2016 revamped post for you, my friends. I’m enjoying my time overseas. If you didn’t know, you can follow along on the visual fun on my Instagram.)

 I try not to forget some of the best parenting advice I was ever given at our family summer camp in Pine Cove, but I always seemed to get “sucked” into our daily routines.  (As you know, these turn into the story of our lives.)

So, what was the advice? SIMPLE: CREATE FUN!

Stop the daily routine, the stress, SURPRISE everyone (including yourself) and find the time for FUN. Their simple question was this: “When is the last time you jumped on the bed with your family?” Good question. Not sure I had since they were toddlers. We did it when we got home that summer, and I’m not sure they would remember. More than likely because it was a “one-and-done” activity and frankly that is not acceptable.

Now, don’t get me wrong, we have always had a lot of fun but I honestly don’t think I did enough to create fun “along the way.” For those of you with younger kids, I wish I would have made a calendar notification to do just this… I think it’s worth it. Kids remember these moments.

The fourth quarter is always one of the busiest and the most stressful. New school year, year-end push to achieve goals at work, the holidays, and oh good god, the comfort food that sends us to the gym to ward off the weight gain. All of that can catch up, so call a time out this weekend, or better yet tonight. Turn up the music and create some fun!

I’d love to hear how it went!

September Favs – What are yours?

(Photo creds: Canva)

I thought it would be a good idea to inject some joy into our conversation. One of my boys recommended I talk about my favorite things about September. Well really, about fall as a whole. I am pretty sure it’s my favorite season. (I may or may not change my mind if the days get chilly too soon!) I thought I’d get the ideas flowing, and I know others would love you to chime in with one or two ideas for fall fun!

  • Definitely…. Football, the “littles,” high school’s Friday night lights, college and – of course – GO CHIEFS!
  • All kinds of festivals… the apple orchard, the pumpkin farms… ALL KINDS. Please have cider donuts!
  • Shorts & sweatshirt weather – and jeans with t-shirts for that matter.
  • BOOTS (they deserve a line for themselves, cowboy or other)
  • Community 5Ks and Saturday farmer’s markets
  • Patio seating with heat lamps…

Okay, your turn….

Have an amazing weekend!

Celebration marks the moments of your life.

(Photo Creds: Cindy Reynolds and her lovely, and obviously fun, better half. Cindy and Dennis own Somerset Ridge Vineyards & Winery outside of Louisburg. It is beautiful, fun and one of the BEST KC experiences! Check it out.)

Okay, so for real… this eclipse experience was just FUN. I was on a plane, so did not get to experience it, however, the pictures were just a thrill to look at! I love it when everyone just stops and has FUN.

Props to the companies, schools and organizations that took the time to MARK THE MOMENT. Regardless if you are a science nerd and loved every minute of the details, or if you just wanted to don the cool glasses and join the festivities, it was something for everyone to celebrate! A once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Celebrating is important! It is actually more than important and I need to do a better job of celebrating small moments. I actually decided I needed to ALWAYS have a bottle of pink champagne in my refrigerator to have on hand to celebrate the little things in our lives, family, neighbors, colleagues…

Here is a thought: How else can we make celebrating easy and top of mind? That’s the thinking for the day.

Celebrating is a GIFT we have on hand every day and week if we choose to use it! What do you need to celebrate? Seeking out the good in life is a key to happiness and to a life of serving others and yourself well.

The Power of Music

I loved this bit of research I stumbled upon through the Museum of Science and Industry.

I must not have been in the Spice Girls era enough but Lou Bega’s “Mambo #5” (I have to admit, I didn’t know the artist) and Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger,” are definitely catchy and fun!

The study was based on how much time it took 12,000 people to recognize the tune, among other things. The average recognition time was 5 seconds, with the top three averaging around 2.5 seconds.

Why is it that music has so much power? The way the brain processes music is an entire industry of sorts. Researchers can use this cognitive data to understand larger issues such as understanding dementia and communication strategies to employ with such patients. Pretty cool. (For all of my music friends, I know this scratches merely the surface on the power of music, so perhaps I can cover other topics later! Guest blog volunteers?)

I absolutely love music but I don’t have a great iTunes playlist, and honestly am pretty boring when it comes to what I listen to on a regular basis. This list has me convinced that I need to listen to music a lot more. There’s nothing like an impromptu dance party to SHIFT THE MOOD of the house, the car, etc.

In fact, I recommend, you make it a point to have such a party sometime this week! Choose one of these top three or from the list below, or HECK, come up with your own. If you have one you feel should have been in the top, let us all know! (For some reason, I would add AC/DC’s Back in Black, which pretty much anyone that knows me, knows I’m not hard rock fan… but that song always brings out the crazy college dance days back!)

The other top ones on the list (I am so happy to see The Human League made the cut!):

HAVE AN AWESOME WRAP TO THE WEEK AND A FUN DANCE PARTY!

The magical moments of summer – What are yours?

(Photo Creds: We Heart it)

Summer is truly magical. Tomorrow marks the first true day of summer, although for those of us whose kids have now been off a month from school, it feels like it must be almost over. My encouragement today is to let summer SHOW OFF the MAGICAL MOMENTS. Hit the patios, have a water gun fight, watch the young and the old jump through the sprinklers (we need to see more of that…), take a road trip, enjoy late night conversations while the days are long, get out from the front of the TV and finally, jump in fully.

We are just about at halftime for the year (July 2nd-ish) and it’s time to begin to think about the RESET. Before we do that, let’s make a commitment to REJUVENATE and not let the magic of summer go by. Not even one week of it.

I’d love to hear from you all today on what your favorite summer activity or treat is. What brings out the child in you? Give us all some ideas to get our thoughts generating…. Here’s some I thought of:

  • The ice cream truck! I always love the ice cream truck. The Neapolitan ice cream sandwich or some flavor of bomb pop! Anyone else?
  • Fire flies… I still get a huge smile out of watching kids capture fire flies….
  • Fishing… I don’t really do this enough, but the thought of it makes me smile…
  • Starlight Theater – I hadn’t been for years and my mom and I went last year. It was FABULOUS. Simply charming.
  • State fairs (or at least the idea of them) and people watching at any festival.

YOUR TURN! Don’t be shy. We all need the inspiration!

Simple Thoughts Sunday FUNDAY

(Photo Creds: We Heart It)

A lot of people feel guilt for enjoying the gifts God has given us. I love the concept of “Sunday Funday” that became popular over the last several years. While Sunday is to be a day of Sabbath as a follower of God, it is also a day to get out there and HAVE FUN! To truly rest and refuel. One of the best ways I know to get truly refreshed is to have fun with people you love to be around.

As the scripture says, to “eat and drink” and enjoy what we have earned through working throughout the week. I hope that you have taken time today to HAVE FUN and if not, the night is still young!

Spontaneous acts are usually the MOST FUN. Grab your favorite and go get some ice cream, play Frisbee, take a walk… jump on the bed, catch fire flies… START YOUR WEEK OFF WITH CHILD-LIKE ENTHUSIASM!

Heard at home: “I wish I was in Kindergarten right now”

This is terrific! Oh, how wonderful Kindergarten is. My boys had some amazing Kindergarten teachers, they got to take naps, color, sing, join hands with their class, and basically learn the important things in a well lived life.

When my son said this the other day, I laughed out loud. Is this not the truest statement? Even if for just a bit of our day, this time is down right THE BEST. If only we knew then what we know now.

When I was searching for the photo for the post, I came upon a quote, “Dear Kingergartners, if you don’t want your nap today, please send over to the high school.” There was another one, “Dear Naps, I am sorry I was such a jerk to you in Kindgergarten.” Ha!

Well, this post is just to make you laugh a bit, but we for sure can always use the reminder to appreciate the little things. I hope your weekend is great, and if it rains, I hope you will go do something wild and crazy like a Kindergartner… stomp in the mud, color and of course… NAP!