To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Life

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.

A call to the people in your story

Who has been a key part of your story? Probably a lot of great influencers, and people who have walked alongside you at all ages. I don’t remember much from elementary school, but my immediate family stands out. There were a couple of friends I recall, though not so much their names, from middle school skate parties and endless sleepovers. High school and college have many stand outs, from dear friends, to teachers and even early bosses. My career has provided great leaders, and awful managers; those who have mentored me, and those I have mentored. My mind can also see what seems like hundreds of faces of people who have impacted me with their stories of bravery, courage and otherwise living out lives of excellence and humility on a day in and day out basis.

Here’s the idea today: We need to reflect. We need to take the time to look back and see how the right people have been placed right where we needed them – at just the right time. It is so cool how life seems designed to provide the hope we needed in a moment, the lesson that we perhaps didn’t know we needed, or the courage to rise to the occasion of something or for someone that really needed our support. Our journeys are so much better thanks to these people – many of them surrounding us right this moment. You know what is great? We have the opportunity to let them know about that impact.

As it’s still back-to-school season, I thought it was the perfect time for this little “assignment.” Who is in with me on calling out those people who have been key to your life, and reaching out with a big thank you? By Friday, let’s each identify at least 3 people, and go spread some gratitude and joy? I know it will make all of the difference. Have an awesome week!

Being realistic about getting to a happy life

I had a revelation on Saturday. I am not entirely sure where it came from, but one of my dear friends was sharing with me that she didn’t know if she would ever get to happiness. I had a strong, clear reaction which kind of surprised me to be honest (since, like I’m sure many of you, sometimes happiness can be hard to nail down…). I guess it was somewhat of a lightbulb moment or a personal epiphany. Here’s what I responded to her statement:

Happiness is a moment – and then another moment.

I went on to say that sometimes I feel that America gives us a false hope that happiness is something we obtain – a pinnacle or a mountaintop where we stay once we achieve. (I also may have said that it was an American fantasy from hell, but maybe that was a bit strong?) In this moment, I somehow owned this while I was saying it. While I’m clearly not a researcher on happiness, I am compelled to believe this is the absolute truth.

Sure, happiness “is a choice” most days and through most seasons. We can choose to find joy in the smallest pleasures, like a light breeze hitting our face on a warm day, or a courageous flower popping up through the sidewalk crack. Oftentimes, happiness eludes us. We look right past the elderly couple holding hands in the grocery store, or the fact that we woke up breathing, or that were able to celebrate another birthday with friends and family.

Happiness… It’s in both the experiences we choose and those that choose us. A season of questioning or when your spirit just isn’t joyful, doesn’t mean you aren’t happy. It just means you are normal and that happiness is about to catch you again! Be on the lookout for those. A happy life is a compilation of happy moments. Cheering you all on!

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Living the best life by sharing our “more”

How we respond to life matters. From my point of view, God blesses us with many gifts, some more recognizable than others. Our purpose is to use those to elevate the world around us.  The very community you are in — your group of friends, peers at work or those in your neighborhood — I believe all were designed to be in your life.

I heard a message last weekend that stuck with me. The idea being to ask ourselves what have we done with those gifts we have been given… (“the more”)

Did we receive an extra dose of JOY that others could use?

Do we have a cozy apartment or home that we can share with others?

Have our life experiences delivered a powerful story that would inspire and help others overcome their challenges?

I personally hadn’t thought about my “joy” as a gift, but I think it can be. Do I use it as often as I could… especially at home? Most of us have been given more than we need in every category and the next few weeks it is fun to see how people all around share that “more” in the many ways the season offers.

Have the best week and revel in sharing your gifts.  

A shout out to those focused on personal growth!

First of all, apologies for the language choice. My perspective has always been that the appropriate use of a word should be acceptable as long as it’s not mean spirited… that is never okay.

THIS. This makes the point that needs to be made. To those on the relentless path to growth, a huge shout out to you today! You are brave and are right where you are supposed to be. Keep that mental focus and conquer it all. You are a warrior!

I’m sure most of you know that change is not something for the faint of heart. It’s not even close to easy for the stoic, the strong, the wisest among us.

You see, understanding the areas we need to grow in and then actually making the CHOICE to face them head on is real work. It’s the kind of work that might create some uncomfortable moments, and for many of us, a few tears. Tears are healing, though. A wonderful person once told me tears are how we cleanse our soul. I like that idea. To be a better person, to serve well, to grow in all areas of your life takes work and that work is the best kind. It’s in my opinion exactly what we are supposed to be doing in order to achieve our best self.

I’m cheering you on!

Simple Thoughts Sunday: The power of the wait

This is a Christian truth.

Wait, maybe it’s just a life truth.

There is POWER in the wait. As we hold tight to our faith, and pray that God will reveal our “next step,” our “best next move” our optimal “way to succeed” in this life, we try to keep our faith strong and forge ahead with grit and hope. It doesn’t matter if the topic involves, school, career, relationships, finances, etc., it’s all the same… the WAIT is a real part of our lives. We endure the WAIT so we can CELEBRATE the “next” outcome and eventually become our best self.

Here’s my thinking today… we just HAVE to try our best to be optimistic, hopeful and even eager to see where God wants us to go next. We have to believe there is a “better” for us… A place that helps us to understand why we have been where we have, and where we are headed. A “next” step to fulfilling our purpose and allowing us to use our gifts, talents and resources to improve humanity all around us.

Here’s what I know… as a 50 year old, I know that my faith is what helps me endure the wait. My faith gives me all I need (although sometimes it is not pretty) to know that His plan is perfect and I’m headed in the direction I’m supposed to. I have truly found that I am strengthened during seasons of waiting and that I am better able to sustain and even prosper during “dry” seasons due to my knowing that there is a better plan… A plan much better than my simple mind can understand.

As you go into the week, know that if you or someone you love is in a period of “waiting,” that God has them right where they are supposed to be. If it happens to be you, I pray that you will be strengthened by this post and are able to realize that the WAIT is WORTH IT and before you know it, you will be STEPPING up to the next level.

Your life is moving in the direction of your strongest thoughts

This little reminder may just need to soak in a bit. What exactly are your thoughts telling you right now?

Are you feeling strong and capable? Weak and unsteady? Clear and purposeful? Slightly confused and unsure on next steps? Okay, now take that a step further and into each area of your life…

In your school, career or retirement?

In your community work?

In your home life?

In your relationships?

In your finances?

In your health and well being?

In your personal growth, spiritual or otherwise?

Today, remember the power of the mind – the power of your thoughts. If you find that your thoughts aren’t headed in the direction that you’d like, than it may be time for a course correction. Take the needed time this weekend to call them out and reset your thinking. I believe there is amazing strength in making a firm decision to ensure our thoughts in are in alignment with where we want to head. We are all destined to achieve our purpose, to serve well, to make an impact.

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Nourishing our souls

So, what is nourishing you?

We need healthy food and lots of water so that our bodies have the best chance to give us optimum performance. We need sleep to achieve full restoration each day. From my point of view, we need a strong spiritual life to truly nourish our soul so that we can fully utilize the gifts God has given to each of us (and to serve well).

Today seems like a great day to think about what is nourishing our souls. Are we spending as much time in the word of God as we are on social media? Watching mindless Netflix or reality TV shows, listening to music that doesn’t inspire? Are we filling our minds and hearts with the truth, or are we distracted constantly?

This week, can we up the game on our focus toward nourishment through spending our extra time in activities that draw us and our families and loved ones closer to God? I’m totally up for this challenge and would love to hear if you are too!

Creating buffer zones for an optimal life

I loved the dictionary definition of “buffer.” The noun may be my favorite and I intended on writing about the verb.

Noun: A person or thing that prevents incompatible or antagonistic people or things from coming into contact with or harming each other.

Verb: To lessen or moderate the impact of something.

Just like the bumper guards in a bowling alley keep a child’s ball on the right course, having good “buffers” can do the same for us. We tend to fill our schedules fuller than they need to be, or rather should be, and as a result we don’t end up optimizing our lives.

The slower pace of life that can be beneficial to developing better relationships through actual conversation, the ability to truly think through a tough problem, or taking the time to breathe deeply and appreciate nature (thereby making us physically healthier). These are challenged or sometimes even diminished when we don’t have the “buffer” zones built into our schedules. I am perhaps not the best person to point this out since I’m not a victor in this area, but I certainly understand and fully believe in the power of the idea. I have, over the last year, truly tried to build in some of these, and it’s very helpful.

There are a host of ideas of how to do this, including defining how many meetings you are willing to have each day, and how many weekends per month you are willing to “go out” so to speak. If you need some ideas or want to share some ideas, by all means reach out, or help the other readers by listing some in the comments.

Finally, to the last point, which goes back to my fondness for the noun version of “buffer,” I think that is a key lesson for all of us. There are people and then there are “THOSE” people. You know the ones that run on a different pace, or version of reality that tend to make us slightly crazy. We need buffer zones for those people too. In essence, I think creating healthy boundaries so we can “stay in our lane,” is the best policy. I think an upcoming conversation on boundaries may be in order! Let me know what you think!

The 100-year-old tree: What we can learn?

The rings of a tree offer a lot of information. We can think of these as a visual imprint of the life the tree has lived, referencing seasons of good and bad; growth, scars and of course SURVIVAL.

I love this little book I keep by my bathtub, “The Art of Stopping Time,” that is really a wellness guide. I give them credit for this topic and the idea of looking at our time on earth in the context of the “rings of a tree” today.

If you had “rings” like a tree, what would they say? What mark did you leave? Did you have some stressful years that took a toll? Health challenges? Did the marks come from happy or sad times? It’s always a good idea to take account of our lives and be sure we are getting properly “watered,” so to speak, so we can ENDURE like the 100+ year old tree.

I loved the first picture on this image, because it represents a beautiful tree, marked by both good and bad times, pings and dents that created the true beauty over time. We are all like that. Our richness and ability to fully express our beauty comes from our experiences and challenges and forms into a life that can provide great energy and comfort for ourselves and those around us.