To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Simple Thoughts Sunday

Simple Thoughts Sunday: What is one thing you can do?

What did I do today that required faith? For that matter, what did I do in the past year that required faith?

Pretty good questions, but I’m not sure I have good answers. Maybe if I thought about it a bit.

I really loved the thought above inspired by Craig Groeschel. He talked a lot about having faith to follow your dreams, or to make that call you really know you need to make but just don’t have the guts to do it. The question could be: What is one thing I can do to up my game this week? To truly be a better version of myself? Do I need to forgive; to reach out more; to really follow that career path I know I have been led to? I’m sure you get the idea.

Today is short and simple. I’ll leave it to you to think through your one thing. I know exactly what I need to do! My prayer is that this week is truly beautiful for you in every way!

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Unity

A month of UNITY. We need feel-good moments in this country, and I love that February helps do just that.

Between the Super Bowl (shout out to what I consider to be the best Superbowl in my 50 years!), Black History Month and the Winter Olympics, we have a ton of opportunity to step in to the conversation of unity.

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter you may have seen that I attended UMKC’S Martin Luther King Jr. lecture series, and boy was that powerful. I am forever humbled by what I don’t know despite 50 years on this Earth. Our nation has been through a lot. We are better for what we’ve experienced, and we should all be intentional about taking time to learn about our past and let it inform our present.

I hadn’t given much thought to the fact that slavery in America existed for 339 years, and that just about every major institution played a part in it. Science proves out that the lasting impacts of this are still alive and well today. I had no idea. Thank you to Dr. Joy DeGruy and the hundreds of other people who have made it their mission to bring awareness and galvanize us all into action.

Unity is an all-encompassing term, but understanding the history of our country can go a long way in helping us sort out why we’re where we are today. We can do better. We are, as we know from the Bible, dependent on each other and are one in Christ. That is the truth; that is powerful.

My prayer is that we will all consider what little we know and make an effort to gain a greater understanding. If we can take that knowledge and make it useful in our generation (and those we impact: children, grandchildren, etc.), honoring the heritage of all people, we stand a much great chance of achieving peace and love all of the days of our lives.

Anyone else with me on this? We can – and should – DO THIS!

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Playing to win

I am a fan of daily devotions. A good friend got me the ‘Awaken’ devotional book from Priscilla Shirer for this year, and I am really liking it. I love practice examples and she offers plenty. In this verse, she focused on the “in such a way,” part: “Read this again and see: the winning is not just in the running. It’s in the WAY the RACE IS RUN.”

It’s Superbowl Sunday and the Winter Olympics launch on Thursday. A huge week for sports fan and I am indeed among them. Serious athletes and all of us who strive for excellence in our own “race” must run with endurance and have the discipline needed to anchor our souls and lives to a plan that will help us to do so in the best possible way.

Shirer suggests that we do this by listening and submitting in obedience to God’s word. In other words, to actually seek out his voice through scripture reading and any other way that you can soak it in with today’s many resources.

For this “Simple Thoughts Sunday” I am all in on following his plan to achieve the life of excellence I desire. I hope you will have some time to truly enjoy the big game today and will celebrate the athletes who have indeed put in the effort to WIN later this week with the rest of the world.

I can’t wait to spend some time this week diving into the insights of Olympics past and present. It will be FUN!

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Priorities

In Matthew Kelly’s classic book ‘The Rhythm of Life,’ he shared that he often sites this prayer during the day, especially during busy times.

His theory is that finding the “rhythm” is largely about assessing and reassessing our resources and energies, ensuring they are in alignment of fulfilling our purpose.

Most of us do this annually, or maybe a few times a year, but daily? That is powerful thinking.

As you launch into February, my prayer is that you will take pause to make sure your efforts, time, actions and focus are in the direction that aligns with you being the best and most amazing version of yourself! I will for sure tuck this one in my proverbial back pocket to ask throughout my week. It’s pure gold in my opinion!

Simple Thoughts Sunday: GROWTH

I love things that inspire me; especially those that catch me off guard.

Chris Hodges is an author and pastor I follow from Birmingham (shout out to my BAMA friends Nan and Jan).

I have shared before that I do an annual spiritual fast, called the “Daniel Fast.” I do it the first 21 days of each year. Coupled with a better diet, I also give up the unhealthy surfing of social media channels and most TV. (I still use Twitter and Linked in for work, and admittedly still watch ‘This is Us,’ because I just can’t not watch.)

It’s amazing how much time is freed up. Also, how your focus returns to where it really should be all year long. Chris’s church, Highlands, is also doing the “Daniel Fast.” They add 21 days of prayer, and actually have a 6 a.m. weekday service that focused on great worship music and a 5-minute message before a prayer service. They posted about it online, and I was blown away by the message earlier this week on growth, and the reference to Luke 2:52.

I pray this scripture over my boys frequently and have since they were young men. I had not really given it much thought in terms of my own personal growth. Hello light bulb moment. We are all growing, whether we are 2-years-old or 92-years-old. Always learning, always looking to go deeper, share more, serve better…

Chris’s word for the year is GROWTH. (More on the word-of-the-year concept here, in case you missed it.) I think he may be a few years older than me, but I love that idea and thought you might as well.

I am praying this scripture over all of us today. May we achieve all that we were destined to in order to serve our FULL PURPOSE in this life. We will talk this week about growth in general, and some leadership insights I hope will help you continue to build momentum!

Simple Thoughts Sunday: The anchor that holds you

This is what I know for sure:

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
— Hebrews 6:19

As you step into this week, bold and ready to continue a strong start in the first month of the year, this truth should give you great confidence. I personally like the idea of knowing that God has me anchored. As long as I stay close to His word and listen for His guidance, I can know for sure that He has me. He has you, too!

I like this quote by Charles Stanley, “Life Principles #3: God’s word is an immovable anchor in times of storms.” I have found this to be true. I believe He has us anchored in the great times and, most importantly, during those “every day days.” (We can use this when it’s cold and dreary!) He holds us tight and I believe we can rely fully on his direction for our lives.

How about you? I hope today finds you feeling anchored. And if not, renew your commitment today to fully trust God’s promise that He has you completely covered.

Getting to minimalism

It’s quite a topic. In fact, it’s #trending. Maybe it’s because it’s January and the holiday clutter is coming down. Or maybe it’s the overload of spending that happens as we celebrate. Or maybe you are disturbed by our culture and how we are lured into needing to have the latest and greatest (enter material item here).

If you’ve ever walked into the bedroom of a modern-day child, you’ve probably been overwhelmed by the amount of toys, and frankly, clutter. I don’t doubt they all came from friends and family with great intentions, but it’s still overwhelming. It’s like that feeling of opening the trunk of the car, the coat closet or that junk drawer and watching items fall out. Or when you look in one of those sacred spaces and realize you don’t even remember where some of the junk even came from.

Recently, I moved two times in just more than a year. I swear I purged and cleaned, but somehow it feels like a small army could come through and take enough stuff for their troops and I might not even notice. I’m not proud of that, and it’s disturbing because it doesn’t line up with my personal core values. These things somehow snuck in.

Might I suggest the Becoming Minimalist website? It’s about inspiring people to pursue their true and greatest passions by owning fewer possessions. Who wouldn’t want their lives simplified? Having less clutter makes way for more open space, and that frees up our minds to think and create. That, I believe, is where we get to the part about pursuing what is really important to us.

I like the tone of the website, encouraging “each reader to discover their own journey and the far-reaching benefits that come from owning less.” They pretty much leave it up to us to define what the word means for you and your family. This seems appropriate, since we all have different ideas, priorities and habits. I’ll list some of the benefits in one of the blog posts below, but preface it with this: They are good. In fact, I highly recommend you log on read more of their material as you process the idea of minimizing this week.

  • Spend Less (my favorite)
  • Less Stress
  • Easier to Clean
  • More Freedom
  • Good for the Environment
  • Be more Productive
  • Example for my Kids
  • Support other Causes (Money is only as valuable as what we choose to spend it on.)
  • Own higher quality items
  • Be happier

Those are reasons enough for me to focus on this.

I checked in with my friend I mentioned in Sunday’s blog and she said her family has had a lot of fun picking out items to donate, sell or give away during the first few days of the new year. She mentioned how “freeing” it was and that her kids are enjoying it, too!

There are a few other books on this topic. If you know of a good one, share it in the comments. The month of January is a great time to start books – and projects – like these! As for me, I think I’ll start with that drawer that has all of the kitchen tools in it. I’m not sure what some of them even are. (And to my boys reading this, this is your cue to laugh out loud.) 

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Simplicity — getting to minimalism

(Photo creds: Canva)

I have a good friend and reader of this blog who has claimed her word of the year to be “minimalism.”

I absolutely love that and know that it is trending right now if you follow many of the self-help leaders that flood social media. She was concerned about adding it to the “One Word” post, because she is self-proclaimed, “the very worst” at being anything close to a minimalist. She was concerned those who know her would roll their eyes. I told her her journey is actually really relatable, and people will probably want to join, myself included. I’m not sure I know anyone who lives or works with me that couldn’t stand to simplify spending and life just a bit.

The messaging onslaught of what we “need” to buy, what will “change our lives” and, of course, what “we deserve” have created a level of chaos in our purchasing decisions more so than what any of us would like to admit. We may not be out there buying Louis Vuitton bags and extravagant jewelry, but the $15-20 t-shirts add up. If you think about it long enough, it gives you that uneasy feeling that I call “buying fatigue.”

How much is enough? I heard a message a several years ago at Pine Cove camps, when they asked us to remember that “to choose to spend on one thing, is to choose to not spend on something else.” That has stuck with me, though I still stray from it from time to time. I am human, after all.

If you really think about it, it’s a great question when deciding on something: Is there some place we could spend that money where it would be better served? Our health? Our savings or retirement? Career growth, reading, education, etc.? Or perhaps even a nonprofit could use that in a much greater way?

At any rate, we are going to hit the topic of minimalism this week and some strategies for simplifying our lives. As the scripture so well points out… it’s not like we are taking it with us. There are so many things that cause deep joy and the last time I checked, some of the frivolous spending I’ve done doesn’t meet that definition. I hope you will join me for the conversation.

Happy New Year to the BEST! I am so thankful for my readers!

I thought today for “Simple Thoughts Sunday” it would be good to share a practice that I feel is very helpful in processing your year. Tsh Oxenreider, author and founder of The Art of Simple crafted 20 questions that will help you think through the nitty gritty of the past year.

The process should help you set your focus and intentions on what you hope to achieve during this next trip around the sun. Here you go…

What was the single best thing that happened this year?

What was the single most challenging thing that happened?

What was an unexpected joy this past year?

What was an unexpected obstacle?

Pick three words to describe this past year.

Pick three words your partner, best friends or family, would use to describe your year- don’t ask them; guess based on how you think they see you.

Pick three words for them based on their year, again, without asking.

What were the best books books you read this year?

Who were your most valuable relationships with?

What was your biggest personal challenge from January-December?

In what ways did you grow emotionally?

In what ways did you grow spiritually?

In what ways did you grow physically?

In what ways did you grow in your relationships with others?

What was the most enjoyable part of your work, both professionally and at home?

What was the most challenging part of the same?

What was your single biggest time waster?

What was the best way you used your time?

What was the biggest thing you learned?

Create a phrase or statement that describes this past year for you.

(By the way, this is really hard for me this year… It’s been a “gritty” year and sometimes it seems like I haven’t made a lot of progress. I’m praying God reveals more to me over the next few days because one thing I have learned, is that progress isn’t always apparent at first!)

I hope you have a wonderful celebration today. I am excited to see what 2018 brings and believe fully that God will show up BIG in every single detail.

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Tiny Tim, magic and pure fun

The Kansas City Rep’s version of the Christmas Carol is PURE MAGIC.

I haven’t seen it since my boys were younger and those days I maybe wasn’t paying as attention as much. (A little distracted perhaps?)

Let me tell you… this is awesome! This is every bit as good as any New York production I’ve seen! It’s FUN, heartwarming. So of course, Tiny Tim was the inspiration for today’s Simple Thoughts Sunday.

No matter our situation, we should all remember that this season, no matter if you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or – as my friend recently said – “humanity,” we all deserve the love and embrace of this season. God’s love is big enough for all of us which is my favorite part!

STEP INTO THIS WEEK WITH A COMMITMENT TO LOVE AND EMBRACE ALL AROUND YOU!