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Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

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Happy Mother’s Day!

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Today is about honor.
At some point in our lives we have all had one biological mother and perhaps many mothers that have played a significant role in our lives. Since this goes out later in the day on Sundays, you’ve likely already honored those ladies, but if not, stop now, and call, text, email or get in the car and go hug them if that’s possible.

If you are a mother, you know both the pure love and the work that the role requires, but it’s the truest joy of all. If you are one of those moms that has stepped in for other children, God will bless you richly. Keep doing it and know that you are changing lives!

Today I want to honor my mom who has become a true friend over the past few years. As many of you know, life isn’t always easy and my mom had to overcome some significant obstacles. The GREAT NEWS is that through time, God has stepped in and showed up. Despite all things, a mother’s love is the deepest of all loves and through God all things are possible. So, if you happen to be one of those who has dealt with the not so “Leave it to Beaver” version of family life, HAVE FAITH. God can and does redeem and my story is a testament to that! LOVE THAT SO MUCH!

So, today, Mom, I am grateful. Thank you for loving us and my boys!

My prayer is that we will take this IDEA OF HONOR into the WEEK. Each day this week, make it a point to honor someone who impacts your days and deserves a moment of gratitude bestowed upon them!

I’m making my list!

(Photo credits: Pinterest)

Let it begin with you!

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For those of you on this journey this week, today is day six, but I especially love day seven as we begin our new week! ONWARD! How great is that? The simple message on the website says:

“Let it begin with you. Make a ripple, to change the world.”

Tomorrow is the walk and it is truly a terrific community event. Regardless of where you may be, I hope that you took the time this week to review the messages and goals of GiveSevenDays.

I am praying that we will all MAKE A RIPPLE and CHANGE THE WORLD. Let it begin with US. 

Celebrate someone today! WHY NOT?

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As we close the month, it is a great time to look back on your calendar and see who you need to stop and thank for making it a great month! In fact, I think we should all put that on our calendar on the last day of EVERY MONTH.

“Raising a Glass” to those who fill our days and months with joy is important. I believe it is very important to do so within our own families perhaps first and foremost. Birthdays, babies, weddings, promotions, etc are great but imagine how much better life would be if celebrations happened every month!  I’ll start with a few… Then it’s your turn!

I raise a glass today to….

My sister – She goes out of her way to celebrate others OFTEN! She made my birthday month great and I couldn’t be any luckier to have a sister like her!

Ashley –  Ashley is the wonderful gal  that proofs and posts my blogs on social media. She makes my life so much easier and I am blessed!

Terri – Terri is a friend who always, always, always takes time to reach out and be a friend to me on a regular basis… Sometimes even daily.

The Fab 5 – My neighbors, turned friends who are by my side for the good, bad, ugly and sheer brilliance of LIFE!

Okay, I could go on and on, so I’m stopping there because it’s YOUR TURN! Stop what you are doing and “RAISE YOUR GLASS” to some deserving folks!

(Photo Creds: We Heart It)

Now THIS is a fun day!

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ST PATRICK’S DAY has always been one of my favorites.

My high school friends that may read this could tell you what fun we had at the KC Parade each year! (Too much fun actually!) When everyone wears green and the true Irish bring out their best leprechaun attire, bag pipe attire etc. the environment automatically signals: “This is a fun day!”

I have always been intrigued by the bag pipers, and when we were in Scotland for the boys senior trip I photographed them every chance I got – Just like in the pictures, they seem to be frequent around the city- SO COOL! I found a little bit of St Patrick’s Day information that I thought was fun, so follow the link for a bit more on this fun holiday if you have time!

Make it a point to pray the Irish Blessing today as well!
May the Road RISE UP to meet you
May the Wind always be AT YOUR BACK.
May the SUN SHINE warm on your face, the rain fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again, May GOD BLESS YOU in the Palm of His Hand.

(Photo credit: Pinterest) 

Bold visions for our families

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Bold visions and a life of excellence starts at home! Whatever home is to you!

Whoever we surround ourself with plays a large role in our lives.  We need bold visions for our families. Families are at the core of our purpose and what drives our actions most of the time.

Some of the best portrayals of families comes from some of the most famous television programs. It’s no wonder that we are drawn to these shows as they help us identify with our families and our world as we know it. When I was a child, Leave it to Beaver was on it’s way out, and we had some fun with Good Times, Roseanne and Murphy Brown. Now we get to enjoy Modern Family, which I have to say is fantastic. In all of these, no matter what the family looked like, they had fun together, encouraged each other, argued and experienced challenges and life itself together. The root of all of these was and is the LOVE that builds the bond that family represents.

My encouragement today is to be intentional about your family. It is so important to really build a strong family!  What three things can you do today in order to be bold in setting priorities for your family? We must be courageous to tackle both the fun and the tough issues that can ease their way into our households. Here are my top three:

  1. Budgets – Teach my boys a bit more about real life finances
  2. Politics – My boys are 19 now. I should have talked about this a lot more at the dinner table or on the way to games. They are voting age and have a huge role in our country’s success. I need to be intentional about upping the game on deeper discussions.
  3. Fun – We have plenty of fun, but honestly we need to crank up the music more on a daily basis!  Somehow between elementary school and now we have had far too few dance parties – HA!

(Thank you to the East Family for this fun photo!)

Mind the gap

blog_736260_2809120_1447718112-1Mind the gap? I saw this sign in Scotland, and it has left me wondering for nearly five months now.

My mind first went to racial issues that continue to plague our country. Difficult for me to understand, but it’s right in front of all of us. That seems too obvious, too simple. Yet as complex of issue as they come.

Where else is there a gap? Obvious or not?

A “gap” we step over, as to “mind” it and not get hurt by the trappings of falling in or dealing with it…

A gap in our political system? A gap in our career or education? A gap in our neighborhoods? A gap in our families? Friendships? Co-workers? A gap in our health or habits? A gap in our finances?

What needs reconciled, dealt with or “minded?” We are closing in on 2015’s end. There is still time. Minding our gaps – it’s an important step in attaining excellence.

Bold celebrations: Go Royals!

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Happy Thursday everyone!

We made it past hump day and on the home stretch to finishing week one of November. I started on Sunday with the theme of bold. Bold in our thinking, our priorities, our actions, our intentions, our love, our prayers.

Tuesday we got a little deep in talking about bold thinking… but, since most readers are Kansas Citians and we were celebrating our Royals winning the World Series, you might want to go back and check that one out if you missed it.

So, how do you wrap up a bold theme? Of course talking about the KANSAS CITY ROYALS 2015 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!

My top three thoughts on how we can learn and be inspired following the big celebration this week:

1. Salvy has shown bold passion every game, all season long.

With every dump of the Gatorade and every time he flashes that smile, he embraces the essence of hometown heart and a spirit that literally shines.

2. Hosmer has shown us what bold grit looks like in action!

His “roll up your sleeves” attitude and willingness to put himself out there and make the play is a big reason the KC Royals – and the rest of Kansas City – were able to celebrate this week.

3. Through 162 regular season games and 16 postseason games, Yost has demonstrated bold coaching.

Most of us know that a team cannot be their best without great leadership. Whether you are a fan that loves him, or questions his decisions, his results cannot be contested for long.  He loves his team, takes appropriate risks and has created a culture that is contagious.
Kansas City is thankful today and all other cities hopefully will take a close look at the beauty of this place! Bold and wonderful! 

Fueled by good decisions

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A little history lesson:  John Deere was born in Vermont in 1804. His father died at sea, and he was raised by a single mother who had a meager income. John, at a young age, made some decisions, which resulted in his great success. As you may know, John Deere is the namesake of the global company that provides us with world-class machinery that started with farming equipment and has expanded over time. As Ralph Waldo Emerson says so well, sometimes, the universe conspires to help us be greatly successful once those decisions are made!
“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of my favorite concepts I have learned over the past few years is this idea of making “pre-decisions.” At first it was a parenting application, sharing with my boys that when sticking with their values, the first step is making a “pre-decision.”  If you make a commitment to yourself to do or not do something important, well then, that is likely to be exactly what happens.

The thought then came into the area of health and fitness. Making a “pre-decision” at the beginning of each year to complete the “Daniel-Fast” for 21 days, was the catalyst for me getting on the right road to health!

After some reflection, I realized my whole life I have been making these personal agreements or decisions on how I wanted my life to look at the end of my “run,” so to speak. Decisions to pick the right friends, to make a difference, to encourage others daily, to be a person of excellence and lead well in my career. Somehow, giving it an actual term helped frame it and helps me to share those thoughts with my boys and others.

The application of the idea of making a “pre-decision” is well laid out once you look at the few key steps to John Deere’s success. I always believe that looking at historically great people who have impacted our world is a good idea when the topic is ‘how to be the best I can.’

Here are a few decisions Mr. Deere made:

  • He decided to go out boldly and leave home, leaving his family so he could help provide and learn his skill.
  • He decided to actually create what he thought just might work, to make his job easier (note that this is no different than what it is today, he simply decided to be fearless.)
  • He decided that to do this in the best way, he needed to partner with others who could help him move forward.
  • He decided after his company was well-oiled, to get engaged in the community. He held several leadership roles in his hometown, including mayor.

What decision do you need to make today? Where are you on life’s path? Time to dive into the community where you can help others or make a child laugh? Is it time to go after that new role at work that you have been teetering about for months?

Step in and make a decision today! I’m cheering for you and the whole world will conspire for your success. I believe that!

Fire up the joy! 3 reasons to spread joy today

  1. blog_726457_2791762_1444698176Joy is contagious! It transmits the type of energy needed to thrive! If you are in the work place and happen to be a leader, well then this may just help your employee satisfaction or engagement as well! Bottom Line: Folks want to work, live and serve where they are happy!
  2. Joy makes a person more productive! I don’t know about you, but getting a bit more done in my given 24 hours would be a huge positive! I found this great little article to back that up.
  3. Joy can make you healthier!  That article outlines nicely the great benefits of joy, which include reducing stress, solving problems easier and fighting disease! I am all about all of those! A great blog post here that goes a bit deeper!

As you get moving on this busy Tuesday (it’s the busiest day of the work week, by the way!), remember to take some time to spread joy! I promise you will be better for it!

By the way, don’t put it off until later, stop now and send three brief messages and fire up the joy. It will be the best five minutes of your day!

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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