To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Faith

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Reflection and purpose

Summer is the ideal time for reflection. The water – lake, creek, river or ocean – offers us an open space to think. The mysteries of what lies beneath the surface can transport us to a different level of awareness of our immensely-complex world.

I may use Brendon Burchard’s “The Motivation Manifesto” several times during the year because I’m halfway through and have more pages earmarked and thoughts underlined than not. Like this thought of looking back on our lives and answering to our creator…

“Did you use the time I gifted you each day to be a purposeful being? Did you follow your own path and make your time count? How faithfully did you tend to the dream I sowed in your soul?”

My thoughts: WOW. Thank you Brendon for this pause. The opportunity to ask the deeper questions and allow ourselves to realign with our purpose if necessary… to polish those areas where we are not fully using all that was given to us.

I’ll close today with his thoughts on mastering our days. It’s as though each morning, we hurl the shining spear of purpose far into the fields of the future, and then make it our mission to go pick it up and throw it once again, moving toward the horizon line of our greater destiny.” That is powerful imagery.

I pray that today, we all “hurl” our swords forward and seek to be fully purposeful in using our god-given gifts.

 

Simple Thoughts Sunday: A banner year!

Happy Sunday! I love some abundance! My favorite is abundant life, as in full with joy and achieving purpose.

We are nearing the halfway mark for 2018, so it’s a great time to stop and declare (or recommit to) this thought and promise over our lives. We were all designed to live in abundance. We only have to set our minds on those things and move forward with actions that ensure we are on that path.

My prayer is that this week, you will consider what this looks like to you in every key area of your life, relationships, health,  finances, community engagement, etc. Abundance is yours for the taking.

Let’s all drive toward having a BANNER YEAR!

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Lean into the word

First of all, isn’t this image terrific? I could sooo use this scene. What about you?

Although today we have so many options to read, listen and receive the “word,” without a lot of intention and focus, diving in and really “leaning” in isn’t that easy. It should be, but let’s be honest — it’s not. Getting away to really soak it in would be fabulous.

One year at the family camp we always went to (shout out to Pine Cove), they had remodeled the rooms, and above my bed was a scripture that essentially said, “he’s got this… you can breathe… be still.” It disarmed me. The scripture reference allowed me to reset. As I went in and out of the room that week, it spoke to me and helped me realize that I often carry around things I really don’t need to.

We all need a reset. I find myself needing them more often as I get older. It never ceases to amaze me that the ancient texts of the Bible can magically point us into the direction we apparently needed to be pointed, and perhaps didn’t even realize.

I am going to do my best to “lean in” this week. If you are able to, let us all know if something stood out to you in the process. I think it just might be powerful.

Here are a few that I kind of love thinking about in the context of resetting.

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still.”
— Exodus 14:14

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds.” — Philippians 4:7

“This hope we have is an anchor of the soul. A hope both sure and steadfast.” — Hebrews 6:19

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Living Unafraid

Summer is often a time where we get out there and sometimes have the opportunity to explore new heights. The boat goes faster, the mountains we climb are higher… It can take us outside of our comfort zone. Our adrenaline amps up and our body responds in ways that often catches us by surprise.

I read Adam Hamilton’s new book, “Unafraid,” this week. At first I wasn’t too excited because I don’t view myself as a fearful person at this point in my life. It pretty much immediately captured my attention though. I got a ton of inspiration out of the book. Here’s a quote I resonated with…

“We are the healthiest, wealthiest, and the longest lived people in history.  And we are increasingly afraid.  This is one of the great paradoxes of our time.”  (ref:  Daniel Gardner)

Our hurried lives create a need for yoga, meditation, mindfulness… Anything to reduce our anxiety and stress. The one thing that we can all rely on is that God’s peace doesn’t change, no matter what is going on in our lives.

Hamilton covers the biblical support of God’s promises and how we can truly rely on him to carry us through these times. He covered everything from financial stress, to FOMO (Fear of Missing Out and the impact of social media), aging, death and loss.  I found myself in every situation he illustrated and I think you might too.

He shared my favorite Bible story from Matthew 8 23-27 where Jesus calms the storm. I have loved this even as a very young girl. Somehow the image of Jesus asleep during a storm, reveals to us that we can rest, knowing that whatever happens we are safe.

I’ll end there today. As you go through the week, know that you are covered. You can rest knowing that even if the storms are strong and seem out of control at times, that God has you.

Praying for us to all to grow our faith life so that we can live “unafraid.” I hope your summer is off to a STRONG START!

Where do I have an opportunity to be a blessing today?

Where is that opportunity? Is it at work? Where I live? In the community? Is it in my own home? Is it myself? (We are often too hard on ourselves. Sometimes self-preservation, as I like to call it, is the “best yes.”)

I’ve shared before that I had a fabulous guy that drove me to the airport for awhile and he told me he prayed every morning that God would point out someone who needed a blessing. He told me how amazed he was that when he started that habit that his eyes were opened to the person needing a ride, some extra change, or whatever it might be.

As you close out the week, finishing strong, it would be great if we all stopped and looked for an opportunity to be a blessing. It’s often pretty simple. Sometimes a compliment, or opening a door is the biggest blessing. When I have been tired and sad, leaving a hospital or loved one, that one person’s cheery “goodnight, get some res!” was just what I needed.

I remember a young girl at summer camp several years ago, likely not even 20 years old, passed me on the bridge by the lake and said, “you are doing a great job (as a mom)…” That has never left me. As a newly-single mom, she stepped in as an angel in that moment.

Where can you best be a blessing?

A day to honor: Memorial Day

Memorial Day is about honor.

As we kick off this week, focused on honoring those who have served our country and lost their lives, I pray that we will all consider the impact this sacrifice has had on our lives. In America, we experience freedom of every possible type. This has come at a price. It will personally be a great joy to lift up to God my many thanks for this gift. My gift in return will be to not only live a life of excellence, but to inspire others to do the same.

Let’s make this week all about HONOR. One of my favorite discussion topics, because we need to keep it front and center.

Have an amazing long weekend. I pray that you will be refreshed and that a spirit of honor will fill your heart and home.

I want to also take a moment to recognize not only those who have left us through their service to our country, but to all who have gone ahead of us. We are who we are because of their impact on our lives.

(Rewind — this post is adapted from 2016, 2017)

Staying within the lines: A nudge to stay on track

How in the world did I not know the term, “rumble strips?” Honestly, did you know this?Or am I not the only one who learned this as a 50-year-old? Don’t tell me I am the lone idiot, folks!

At any rate, I heard a terrific series from Levi Lusko on this whole idea of how we all need “rumble strips.” (You know, those lines or bumps in the road that keep you within the lanes… guard rails are similar in principle, but God knows we don’t want to actually hit those.)

This whole thing really hit me. What areas of life do we need some reminders on to stay focused on our lane? Who speaks into your life as a “rumble strip,” caring enough to tell you when you are out of line in your thoughts or actions? What do you personally do to ensure your thoughts and actions are aligned with your true core values? (A practical example: What movies, shows or music are you listening to that may not be aligned with those?)

Like you, I am a good person who tries to do the right thing in order to live my best life. Still, I slip off of the road at times. Often with diet or exercise. Sometimes with my thoughts about life and not being aligned fully to what I know to be true. I need to spend some time telling my “tribe” to be strong “RUMBLE STRIPS” for me.

Dear God, I hope I can handle their feedback at my age, following my personal goal of asking others to “cater to my success, not my ego,” in their honest comments.

Anyone else with me?

The Power of Story

I have always been fascinated by that one tree in the middle of a field on a road trip. Somehow it has a story to tell, or so it seems. How did it arrive here? How has it endured the many seasons and harsh conditions? Is it lonely? Is it super confident because “damn, I survived?”

Clearly trees don’t think like us humans, but if they could talk, they’d have some powerful stories to tell. We all have stories, and we need to know and understand them, celebrating their lessons and impact on our lives.

A part of my mom’s recovery process has been a stint at a psychiatric hospital, where the goal was to modify her medications against the new anti-seizures meds to try to get her out of what seemed like a modified coma (or at least a state of not having her mind or many physical functions). I have to tell you, that at first it was beyond scary to be there. People walking, others laying or sitting in beds and chairs, yelling and babbling incoherently.

It’s tough on everyone involved and God bless the care team. My mom leaves there today to start rehabilitating her body. I have to tell you, that I’ve come to love these people who have taken care of her. Yesterday, Maria told me about her 46-year-old marriage and pieced together a story for me about how she is a working woman, a proud mom and how she’s scared. She, like so many, likely has dementia – or a version of Alzheimer’s. She has a story.

Many of these people didn’t seem to have family or friends ever come to visit… no one to hear their story. Even those who do, I wonder if we take the time to understand and listen to the stories.

I’m mindful as a health care leader in the senior space about how we are doing in creating pathways to ensure the dignity of our seniors and to hear their stories. As a now 50-year old, I know I haven’t listened well to the stories of the older generations. We need a culture shift in America to focus on the importance of this. Other countries do this really well, if we can stop and learn from them.

Stories are powerful.

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Doing “business” with God’s word

Priscilla Shirer is credited with the quote here in the photo. She is one of the top Bible teachers of our time… Around my age — younger I think — and full of sass and wisdom.

Her devotional, “Awaken,” was given to me at the end of last year and it is really good. I spent more time with it in  January and February this year, and need to dive back in. This idea above was in the introduction, followed quickly by a call to action to “not just scan the Bible, but to do business with it.”

I don’t know about you, but that speaks to me. You see, I have learned over the past few years that the one place I really “hear from God” is when I’m reading His word. That is when I listen for that still-small voice that points me in the right direction — and yes, at times, redirects. If you haven’t found out this truth yet, please give it a try. It is worth your time to really explore the meanings of the scriptures and how they impact your life directly today. Sometimes it is less easy to see how it is lived out in my life, but at times it is so clear I could argue it was written yesterday, intended for me personally.

If the whole idea of hearing from God via His word is new to you, or seems hard to embrace, feel free to reach out. I’d be glad to show you how I started, just 7 or 8 years ago. It has revolutionized my life and it’s pretty darn cool.

Have an amazing week.

What if, today I…

(Rewind! This is a timely and relevant rewind post from 2017 to help get your mind in the right space as we top off the week!)

If you are in the workplace and have anything to do with marketing, you might follow Seth Godin.

He has daily, short blogs that offer up simple ideas on pushing you to the next level in creativity. His recent post caught my attention, and my mind took it another direction. His title, “Three simple and difficult steps” offered this:

  1. Get Smarter. Hurry. (Technology and life is moving fast)
  2. Solve interesting problems.
  3. Care. More.

His thinking was that most people do one of these, but what would happen if you became the type of person and does all three? You might add leverage and value and ultimately choices to your life.

I thought it was good, but here’s where my mind went with it…

What if today we set a goal to accomplish something that really impacted our life/world? What if today was the day that we did not operate our daily routine, but instead choose to take a new route to work, craft a personal mission statement outlining what we’d love to do right now, and set forth a plan to make it so?

One day can be so impactful, yet we often let our days become routine and settle in. I like settling in, but I LOVE feeling energized and like I’m really doing something important. That one is much better! How about you?

What can you do today to UP YOUR LEVERAGE? To get smarter, or change paths or to just be a part of a nicer and better world? My guess is that we can ALL DO SOMETHING.