To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Inspiration

Live in the arena

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again … who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”

Theodore Roosevelt

Want to level up your personal growth? Find a bit over an hour, log into Netflix and be prepared to actively take notes. You will laugh, you will nod in understanding and you will be changed. In her Netflix special, Dr. Brene Brown, says something to the tune of “there is my life before this quote (above) and my life after.” I could say the same thing about this show. Incredible.

She talks about “engineering smallness” in her life because of her fear to step into her own power and play big. (Frankly, that’s its own headline!)

She shares incredible data that proves that if we are to achieve anything – from career success to love – we will indeed fall, get our asses kicked, and experience heartbreak. (Ouch!)

She talks about being hard-wired for belonging, and our need to speak our truth and not betray ourselves for other people.

She educates about the need for us to be vulnerable…even in the workplace. Especially if we are to develop inclusivity, equity and diversity and have uncomfortable conversations that ultimately have the power to bring us to unity. (Folks… we need to be vulnerable… this is critical for our generation.)

That, my friends, encompasses only about 5 percent of the content. I truly hope that you will make it a priority to step into this great message. And if you’ve already caught her Netflix special, I’d love to hear about your takeaways!

The “arena” can for sure be intimidating – scary even. The “arena” is also that place where we grow, thrive and shine like no other place. You all are champions my friends! Cheering you on always.

Never underestimate the importance of reassurance

Throwback Thursday! Rewinding it to this relevant post from last year.

Sharing is caring… Always a truth I fully support. I read something similar to this phrase recently and I gave an internal standing ovation, which inspired me to share.

To me, this might be the most important reminder we all get this week, or even this month. Taking the time to reassure one another is so important to a healthy community. The best leaders get this. Parents do this often when children are younger. But we need to remember that this is necessary at all ages for ourselves, our family, and our colleagues.

Who can you reassure today? Get creative with your list. Throw a quick idea below… we would all love to ignite our imagination.

  • The UPS delivery person who delivers your Amazon Prime packages could use a thank you for a job well done.
  • The front desk team member who welcomed you and had you complete that “annoying” paperwork. (Which, I assure you, they weren’t thrilled about either…)
  • The grocery store clerk that is starting hour 8 of a 10-hour shift?

I hope that you have a strong end to your week! Thank you for taking a moment or two to read these heartfelt insights.

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: There is power in His name

Rewind! Throwing it back to a forever-relevant post from a previous Easter. Cheering you on, friends!

What a wonderful name! WHAT A WONDERFUL DAY!

For Christians everywhere, today is the day that we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For today, I thought I’d keep it simple and remind you of all Jesus can be in our lives (list below). I for one am thankful he is my counselor, teacher, and that his power shows up in every aspect of my life, providing peace, love, joy and forgiveness.

Have a wonderful week, and no matter what you celebrate today… you are loved indeed.

A short list of some of the names of Jesus:

Almighty   Rev 1:8

Alpha and Omega  Rev 1:8; 22:13

Author and Finisher   Heb 12:2

Beloved   Matt 12:18; Eph 1:6

Christ   Luke 9:20

Comforter   John 14:16

Counselor  Isa 9:6

Creator Isa 43:15; John 1:3; Col 1:16

Deliverer  Rom 11:26

Faithful and True  Rev 19:11

God of hope   Rom 15:13

Light of the World  John 8:12; 9:5

Lord of the Harvest  Matt 9:37-38

Lord of Peace  2 Thess 3:16

Mediator   1 Tim 2:5; Heb 8:6, 1 John 2:1

Rock  1 Cor 10:4

Physician  Matt 9:12

Shephard  Heb 13:20; 1 Pet 2:25; 5:4

Teacher  Mark  6:34; Luke 4:15; John 3:2

Victor John 16:33; Rev 3:21; 17:14

Wonderful  Rev 19:13


Cultivate something that brings joy

Rewind! This is an adapted post from 2017. Happy Easter weekend!

I love the idea of community gardens. If you aren’t familiar, community gardens are managed by groups of people, generally to meet a community’s needs. Sometimes that need is because the area is in a food desert and other times it’s education. No matter the reason, it is a positive initiative that brings great value, and improves health and happiness.

A few years ago, our church did a sermon series around the idea of “cultivate,” which got me thinking about areas in my life where cultivation is needed.

“Cultivate” has a double meaning. One is about preparing and using land for crops or gardening. We do this by tilling, plowing, fertilizing, mulching, watering, weeding… the type of hard work that community gardeners know all too well. The second meaning is to “acquire or develop” a quality, sentiment or skill. (Also hard work)

The two definitions are connected.

At the time, I associated the series with the word “joy”. This association struck me as an area I needed to focus on during that season of my life… to develop … cultivate if you will. I’m sure you know by now that I consider joy to be important. I feel so strongly that JOY is something we can have but that it often requires cultivating, especially during hard seasons.

You might have an area of your life that you want to cultivate, and I encourage you to pursue that. I am hopeful some of you will join me in generating some joy in our homes, neighborhoods and workplaces! What can you do today to elevate and cultivate joy? This is a terrific weekend to do just that!

Let’s be of service to those around us!

It’s Easter week. Full of hope and excitement – if you let it.

So, what can put us into that frame of mind?

Whether you are reading this with a heart full of joy – feeling that momentum in your soul – or during a rough season of life, I have found that there is profound power in focusing on others first.

Let me explain…

I consider this idea of “serving well,” and getting outside of my own head, to be one of the most important thing I can do. I love Oprah’s reminder in the quote above that service is an opportunity – a gift, really.

We have the choice to serve others every single day, whether or not you’re “feeling” the positive energy within yourself at the time. It is still a choice. Giving love and being a source of help where needed is arguably one of life’s greatest gifts. We were born with a heart to serve.

I hope this Holy Week fills your heart (and Easter baskets!) with hope and joy by extending a hand to someone that God has placed in your path.

EXHALE – Getting to Fresh life and fresh thinking

Exhale (verb) – “She sat back and exhaled deeply.”

What a terrific thought! I attended a session in high school where we learned to “breathe in any stresses” that we were experiencing, and then “breathe them out.” Then we “breathed in only good and positive thoughts.” It was powerful, and I often still use that tool. Today, we call this (in part) meditation, and it’s something we all should concentrate on developing.

If you are like me, sometimes you are driving down the highway with a list of challenges, ideas and thoughts in your head. Some are good, some not so much. Becoming aware of this and learning to breathe through it can and will be a game changer for your mental (and ultimately physical) health.

What is also really cool, is that if you can remember this, you will find your mind has more time for clear thinking, which brings you to innovation and the ability to create. With spring in play, what a great time to take it all in – the sunnier days, the blooming flowers and the overall essence of fresh life and fresh thinking.

I’m cheering you on… EXHALE!

Go deep: We need to build our root system

Throwback from 2017- some thoughts as you wrap up your week strong!

If you’ve ever stood under a redwood tree, you know that their height is something magnificent. And yet, the extent of their root system is shockingly not deep at 6-12 feet. So, how do we account for the crazy growth, with many reaching 300 feet tall? (The tallest pine measures in at 268 by comparison.)

“Redwoods create the strength to withstand powerful winds and floods by extending their roots more than 50 feet from the trunk and living in groves where their roots can intertwine.”

Perfect! Another cool illustration for how important going deep in your relationships is to your ability to grow and optimize your gifts. Of course, I love this – and so should you!

“Community” is what allows us to live a joy-filled life. (“Community” is also defined as families, friendship groups, circles, tribes, colleagues… you get my drift.)

To serve well, it is almost required that we are encouraged, held accountable and ultimately pushed toward our best self. For most of human history, this has been a normal part of life, starting out with the earliest Native American tribes and, for my generation, playing kickball in the street until well after the sun went down. Today, many find themselves immersed in technology and other distractions. That seems almost too obvious to state but when the shoe fits… Heck, I don’t even like to get out of my car to go in the bank. God forbid I can’t take care of business on my phone or through a machine.

I like the idea of going deep. I need to work more at this. I’d love to achieve the greatness of a redwood grove… to lock arms together with some amazing people and establish root systems that allow us all to grow and flourish.

What do you NEED today?

So… what do YOU need today?

What will absolutely brighten your day?

Fill your soul? Lighten your load?

Spark a fire?

Ignite your creativity?

What would it take to go do that? What would you or someone else have to do to make that happen? Spring is all about fresh life, hope, joy… Our life is ours to create, to curate, and to actually live in abundantly!

Sounds easy, right? Maybe for some. But in case you are like me and struggle with this at first, I want to share a mind mapping exercise I use to make this happen each year.

I start by putting each of my life’s main categories (finance, career, family, spiritual etc.) on paper, then I develop 2-3 key action items for each one of them to ensure I achieve my personal goals or dreams. My new addition to this exercise today is asking: Where can I add joy, – or, what would brighten my days? – in each area? For example, instead of “spend more time with my family,” perhaps I could expand that to “embark on a Saturday road trip with my sister by the end of May.”

I’d love to hear your ideas!

Here’s to a great week and the best spring ever – let’s make it so!

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Even in the rain…

On my drive into the neighborhood I often stop and take a photo of the lake. It occurred to me that I do this when it’s beautiful outside and the late-day sun is reflecting off of the water. It often provides some sort of deep relief as I take in the beauty. (I’m a rock solid Pisces who loves the water – from stomping in puddles to my fav, Table Rock Lake… it’s heaven on earth to me.)

As I drove in tonight, the rain drops on my driver side window captured me. Against the dark backdrop of the early spring rain falling – coupled with way-too-cold temperatures (if you ask me) – I immediately thought how beautiful life can be during all seasons. Here’s what I know…

EVEN if rain falls, we innately know that the rain brings forth the glory of spring and hope for warm days ahead.

EVEN if our days are hard, and at times overwhelming, God has provided a team of people around us that not only love and support us, but want to cheer us on and relish in that as their purpose.

EVEN if we don’t understand where God has us or our loved ones, we can know for sure that when the clouds clear out (and if we quiet our souls enough to really listen and observe…) that we are exactly where we were or are supposed to be.

I need to be more present in the rain and in the days of wondering. We all rise together, so I hope today we can commit to remembering that EVEN when we find ourselves in gentle rain, shoulders down, ducking the weather, or in a downright powerhouse rain storm, that we look up and find the beauty. It is definitely there… That’s God’s promise to us all.