To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

To Serve Well

Summer 2020: A state of mind

What is your state of mind?

Are you owning this rare season of creation and rebalance? Are you rethinking how you live and love? Are you prioritizing new traditions and generating new thinking? 

Summer 2020 is just the time to sow some new and glorious seeds. If we so choose, this could be an amazing time to water our own souls, and perhaps those God has placed in our lives.

The season will reveal what you plant and nurture… I pray that your state of mind is pure sunshine and running through the sprinkler. BOLD prayers for you all as you enter another week!

Amplify the yes, and shake off what doesn’t build you up

Amplify (verb): To make larger, greater or stronger.

Who else could amplify some things in their life right now?

Expand my wisdom? Yes please!
Develop stronger patience? Why yes, I think I will!
Increase my energy? Heck yes! I would love that!

We can all use this message, and can benefit from a reminder to amplify the good. We also need to remember the power of manifesting positivity. I believe we have all been given the strength and gifts we need, be it through our own work and determination, or from the people who have been placed in our paths.

When talking to a friend once, I shared how I imagined a serious conversation I needed to have would play out. I thought, at the time, that I was being realistic. She quickly reminded me not to put that negativity out into the universe. Instead, I should expect it would go well.

I have to say, I still think I’m more than likely right –– but so is she! I need to amplify the potential positive here. Easier said than done, right?

This summer, more than any other time before, I think we could all benefit from putting this at the forefront of our minds. We need to shake off –– a la Taylor Swift –– anything that doesn’t build us up. Who or what builds you up? Makes you have a spring in your step? Brings you energy? Makes you the best version of yourself?

On the flip side, who or what brings you down? How can you reduce that influence? What boundaries do you need to put in place to protect yourself? All important questions.

I hope as we head into this next month that you bring on the power of your best self and do everything you can to reduce the friction of what doesn’t. In fact, I’m praying for that as I write this. Have a tremendous rest of your week and happy Fourth of July!

(Rewind! This is a modified throwback post.)

Simple Thoughts Sunday: How do you walk?

Do you know the one thing I love the most about being over 50? The outstanding and very clear fact that I have so much to learn. I just finished a truly intense and beautiful book, “As Kingfishers Catch Fire,” a conversation on the ways of God formed by the words of God, by Eugene H. Peterson. Mr. Peterson, is the author of the Message translation of the bible and his wisdom is penetrating. (The Message by the way is a much easier way to read the bible, and many prefer this… if you haven’t checked it out, you might want to try that on the bible app so that you can see if it fits your style of learning…) The book is essentially a compilation of 49 sermons he wrote when he was a pastor… They are short and easy to read, but deep in context and meaning. Going deeper is somehow appealing to me right now.

This quote above captured me with the truth it holds. The chapter, titled, “With the Wild Beasts,”* contrasts and pulls together Isaiah 40 and Mark 1. The highlight for me is essentially “locating” the new (Mark) in the old (Isaiah) by way of referencing the “Way” and “Path.”- The term “Way” is familiar to the Jewish population, at least in that day, because of it’s frequent use in the Psalms. According to Mr, Peterson, this is where this thought came about, “Where “the way” is not the path we walk on but the way we walk on the path.”

Some additional thought here…

“The Way is not only a route we take but the WAY WE GO…the way we walk, the way we use our influence, (side note: we all have influence…) the way we treat one another, the way we raise our children, the way we read, the way we worship, the way we vote,” and on.

As this is “Simple Thoughts Sunday,” and a place I often talk about my faith, I find this so incredibly important right now. It’s always important to contemplate what “path” I am on… (I seem to prefer that to “the way,” but it’s the same thing.) I am especially focused on ideas of “the way I… think, research, listen, and learn before voicing an absolute opinion, the way I approach careful matters…

Jesus says clearly that he is the way. (John 14:6) I believe that if we will take time to really allow God to speak to us, that we will be able to follow a “way” that is better and that our paths can not only inspire growth and unity, but help advance one another and serve each other in the best possible ways.

*By the way, the context of the chapter title, goes to the opening of the conversation above and that we all generally go thru the “wilderness,” as Jesus did to get thru life. What I loved, is the concept that while we may experience testing and temptation in the wilderness parts of our lives, and even though it seems “empty of vegetation” that it is “full of God.” Essentially, God shows up in these seasons. I believe he is showing up now if we will listen.

Wants versus needs

Throwing it back to another one of my #HeardOnPeloton posts from last summer. This feels really important right now. With July just days away, many of us are trying to figure out how to safely sneak in a vacation, a road trip, or anything that gives us time to decompress before the next school year. And we’re doing all of this in the face of so much unknown and anxiety.

Now more than ever, we need to look inward and really get in sync with what our minds and bodies are saying they need –– not just want.

Take care of yourself, friends. Cheering you on!

Compassion takes time – Whoa, that’s a message!

I heard this last week from our pastor Kyle Turner of Hillsong Kansas City. If you know Bible characters, it is in part the “Mary and Martha” conundrum. True compassion takes us being both willing to slow down and alert…. it takes time.

In our generation, it’s the curse of distractions that most often do in our best intentions…generally due to our inability to be disciplined toward what I like to refer to as our “best yes.”

Compassion…

  • Helping others by looking up – We might see someone who could use a hand up or a smile.
  • Building our neighborhood communities. Yep, actually going to greet in person the new neighbor or stop for a spontaneous chat.
  • Caring regularly for those of whom we stand on their shoulders (hello, Father’s Day).

Compassion takes time. It takes us stopping everything to be present. Come to think of it, that was the direction of my “word of the year.” I’ll give myself a 3 on a scale of 1-10. I have work to do. Anyone else need to devote time to true compassion?

My prayers and love to all celebrating Father’s Day and those who find themselves wishing they were today. Let’s commit to a powerful week ahead!

Calling God into the center

I need God…

  • in my conversations.
  • in places I can’t find peace.
  • in my EVERY next move.

Those thoughts are where my heart is right now. I feel more than ever that God is working and there is energy toward healing across our nation. It’s clear that we have been positioned toward unity and reconciliation, if we will stay the course.

First, through COVID-19, there was a movement toward the dinner table and a reprioritization of our lives. On the heels – with what seems like perfect timing (perhaps we weren’t ready as a nation before now…) – decades-long issues of racial inequality has become central in our minds and hearts. Injustice is finally making its way into family conversations, raising awareness & leading toward meaningful action.

For today’s “Simple Thoughts Sunday,” I ask you to remember to keep God centered in your every step forward. Scripture tells numerous stories of calls to love your neighbor and how to respond to injustice or hate. In fact, scripture supports peaceful protesting as a way to unify and create change.

I have so many more questions than answers right now. As I mentioned earlier this week, we have to keep our hearts and minds focused and our actions BOLD until we see a world closer to the one God envisioned: One where all men and women are treated as equal. To do that, we must invite God in to the story.

I’m ending today with a text excerpt from a dear friend who happens to be black. She’s hurting right now more than ever, but make no mistake, this pain is only compounded by the injustice she and those she loves experiences many days of her life. I stand with her and I hope you will as well.

My question to her: “What can and should I be doing right now?” Her reply….

“Be unafraid, be vulnerable, be compassionate, be open, be willing to empathize, be a change agent, be a VOICE, be MY voice, see my worth, value MY life.”

She ended with this: “Hard conversations have to occur in order for any change to happen. It’s long overdue, but I have faith that we will get there… one day.”

Let’s hope for my friend and so many that we love that “one day” comes with the voice and actions of this generation. As she said… it will indeed take faith…her faith & our collective faith. I believe it will require God’s provision in every area. That is my prayer today. Here’s to a powerful week and standing boldly together!

Thoughts toward action: The next 30 days… and then the next 30 days

I’m sure we have all had one or multiple conversations this week around our nation’s racial equality issues. The problems run deep and require a higher level of understanding than what you get if you’re just scrolling through headlines. I personally have spent a few years working on building my own understanding of the inequalities that exist in our world, and yet I would still put myself at a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10 when it comes to having true understanding. I have a lot of work to do, and I’m guessing this week taught you that you do, too.

When we hear phrases like “we need systemic change,” it’s easy to lose momentum because of how daunting that sounds. Systemic changes come with actions like voting. Tragically, there are some who feel like their vote hasn’t been heard in the past, which can really take a toll on hope for real, sustainable change.

America needs a leader –– many leaders. We need folks who can galvanize us around a mission: A mission to tackle these issues head-on, including the education system and the criminal justice system.

I titled this “The next 30 days” because I am hearing folks say they want to start somewhere meaningful. The majority of people genuinely want to take action and want to move our country forward, as the peaceful protests show.

There is work we all can and should do. Know that it’s not easy, but it’s important. We all have a part to play in creating change. It should be clear that this has taken many years to reach this level and it will be a marathon, strong and steady, to move forward. Check out this post on Medium for a list of 75 ways you can contribute your time, energy and resources. I’ve poured through it, and it taught me a few things. I know it can feel overwhelming and hard to know what to really do next. My prayer is for God to direct me toward clarity of impact. Thus, the idea on starting in 30 day increments…

My thought process is to break it down into some areas where I – and most others – could use grounded information with the goal of building foundational understanding. Here we go…

  • Listen to understand. Reach out to the people in your life who are from other backgrounds. Ask them how they’re doing. Ask them to tell you their story of living in this world. Listen intently. My goal is to have three truly strong, meaningful conversations during the next 30 days.
  • Read to understand. Take the time to read up on structural racism to better understand the gravity and depth of the reality we find ourselves living in. (Developing a common understanding is central to getting to the root of the problem. Check this site out for videos and other resources, as a starting point. And if you haven’t already seen it, check out this IGTV post from Viola Davis!)
  • Research local. Look for examples of systematic issues in your state or area. Education is a terrific place to start and was recommended by a friend and after a close review, I would say education reform is mission critical. I will use Kansas as an example. On this site, you can compare the many variances between districts. When you see gaps in performance, consider the lost opportunity children have across the state. This alone should demonstrate that this is a primary issue that we all need to consider critical to achieving equality. (If diving through data isn’t your thing, watch the documentary “Waiting for Superman,” for terrific content on the topic.)

I hope this helps you on our collective journey to serve well. If we keep perspective, keep praying, be kind always, and keep moving with unbridled determination and strength, we will create change. We have to believe that and lock arms tightly.