To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Faith

Happy Thanksgiving! I am grateful for all of you!

The history of Thanksgiving reminds us that taking time to celebrate the harvest is an important part of our country’s history. The idea that for generations we have maintained  integrity around “gathering” and offering thanks is powerful and necessary.

The first Thanksgiving in Plymouth, MA (1621) was a time for neighbors and family to gather with those who helped provide the bounty through hard work. Today, Thanksgiving provides us the same opportunity to carve out time to break bread, share our stories, and offer thanks.

No matter what you find yourself doing over this holiday, my prayer is that you will take the time to acknowledge those who have provided blessings to your life over the last year. I also hope that you take some time to breathe deeply and celebrate your own success (or survival, as may be the case) so far in 2019. This pause just might offer you what you need for the strongest finish to the year.

Cheers to all of you, your family, friends and loved ones. My goal every time I write is that it might impact at least one person.

It is an honor that you take the time to read these little insights and I am beyond grateful for the gift of your time.

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Errors increase with distance

I am inspired by this idea, and perhaps you will be as well.

Where are you when you are at your best? I heard this concept of “errors (as in a lack of peace, quick to express my viewpoint versus listening, etc) increasing with distance” in the context of spiritual connection. I have to say that I am fully at my best when I am closest to God in some way. When I am actively surrounding myself with not only the word of God, but also the energy that is found by spending time in community with other purpose-focused believers, praying regularly, serving those around me, helping those in need, or reading the stories shared by teachers and authors. Heck, even listening to praise music brings me to a sense of awe and gratitude for both the amazing and the challenging in my world. In short, I find myself most fulfilled when my daily life is spiritually connected.

So, logic would say that when I am further away that “errors” may happen. How true is that? When I am not doing much of what I listed above, I find myself feeling disconnected and far from an optimal state. It’s pretty straight forward, yet I have to be honest: I don’t know how or why, but I sometimes find myself distracted and a lot further from the target. Anyone else?

So, for today’s post, it truly is a “simple thought,” which is to say that we are indeed our best when our actions bring us closer to our creator. When we are intentionally near, we can know deep inside that we can hit the targets we were designed to hit, and do so with a sense of deep joy. That’s powerful.

Praying for you all today to have the BEST week!

The original “OGs” and paying it forward. Happy birthday, boys!

Happy 23rd, boys! I guess a benefit of the blog is I have the opportunity to reflect on personal experiences from time to time. As many of you know, I was blessed with triplet boys 23 years ago. This seems like both a short time, and simultaneously an absolutely full 23 years.

I sent one of my boys a message earlier this weekend noting that it was “the big 23” – his “Lebron Birthday.” He quickly replied, “Come on Mom, it is the OG Jordan birthday year.” (LOL!) I had no idea what OG meant until I Googled it (it’s “original gangster,” if you’re lost like me).

Bottom line: This is a fun time in their lives and I am grateful for every moment. I feel like I learn so much every day, and that this season is as important as the next.

New chapters, marriage (Sam is getting married in July), stepping into new careers, etc… So many “firsts” and so much “adulting” that it seems all together more intimidating than the innocent years of stepping into middle school or the first homecoming dance.

I have been literally smitten from the day they told me I was pregnant with “twins,” and then to find that third heartbeat… completely saturated in unending love. Each of them are growing into strong men of faith, which has been my prayer over each of them every night since I can remember.

Courage, bravery, perseverance, integrity, humility, generosity, kindness… Each year, each of them displaying growth in one area and seemingly passing the baton to the other to build upon, and back around the circle for continued growth. I continue to find myself observing, admiring and standing in total awe of this transformation, and I can easily say this has been my greatest privilege and honor.

I hope today that anyone reading this will take a moment to honor those that God has blessed them with: Be it a family member, a friend, colleague neighbor, teacher, or acquaintance. I believe we have all been entrusted with a circle of people who want to take care of each other the best way we know how. What a gift that is.

My boys amazed me this week by telling me that they were trying to do what they did when they were younger, which is to give to others on their birthday. In celebration of their birthday, and for whom we love, we should all go out and pay it forward this week. Be it paying for the person behind you in a drive-thru, offering a Texas-sized hug, or some other act of kindness. Giving back is one of the best ways to serve well!

Happiest of birthdays to my young men! Your presence in this world makes everyone’s life brighter. I don’t take lightly the gift God has given me. I don’t always have the answers, and I don’t always get it right, but I will always love you deeply, respect you, and honor each of you.

Simple Thoughts Sunday: The winding roads of life

God has interesting ways in which He guides us through life, to learn and to connect with great people and of course, to challenge us to be our best selves. To fully achieve our purpose.

Today, I want to share a few insights as we look toward the busy sprint that is the end of the year. I hope this is a reminder to you – as it was to me –to take in the beauty of this busy, sometimes winding, road that we call life.

  1. Beauty can be found everywhere. There is beauty even in life’s side roads that find you wondering why in the world you may have arrived there. Literally, if you set your mind to find the beauty (the good, the positive, the inspiring…) it is indeed there, and often front and center.
  2. God is leading and I am to follow. Those ideas about where, how and what we will be doing at any given stage of our lives are open to change at anytime. If you truly follow His lead, I believe He will use the right people and places and the right time and situations to bring you right where you are meant to be to achieve your highest purpose. Again it is up to us to choose to listen to those promptings.
  3. Finally, stay expectant. Sometimes change can be scary, but I choose not to look at it in that way. Choose instead to find clarity, and know that the right people are placed on the path at just the right time. If we step forward and reach out and do our best work, there will be honor found in the process.

So whether your path today is straight or winding, I hope you will find great beauty all around. Have the best week!

Immersing ourselves in all seasons! (Bring on the fall leaves & eventually even the snow!)

There are some seasons of our lives we would rather just skip over. Some actual seasons, such as winter, that we may be compelled to do the same. (I’ll take the first snowfall and then give winter back…).

The idea of not skipping seasons hung with me for a bit, and I thought it may with you as well. I have found, through reflection, that all seasons are important and frequently critical to my personal development and ability to succeed better in the next phase. Whether that growth be emotional, spiritual, financial or professional. If I would have somehow been able to skip them or chose not to grow through and with them, I flat out wouldn’t be where I am today. I wouldn’t have the inherent wisdom I may have gained, and I certainly couldn’t share it, with the idea of helping others through a similar passage.

I have always believed our lives evolve with an intentional plan. A plan that God put into play when he designed this crazy beautiful (and also, separately, crazy & beautiful) world we live in. I believe we learn best from others sharing their journey and when we live out the seasons head on, taking the good …and the “not so much” as they come. When we commit to continuous growth and learning, we can use the stories and experiences of others – and our own – as arsenal to make for an even better season next time.

So…we are in the middle of fall, (AKA football season, all things apple, pumpkin spice, fires, jeans, flannel and, of course, boots!). I’m not sure where this season finds you in your life, but I hope that you will honor it for all it’s worth. Honor it with gratitude and eyes and ears that are wide open to see and hear where you can serve yourself and others the best. Even when the winter seasons come around – and they always do – we can choose to find joy and embrace whatever it is with the spirit of a child, ready to take it ALL ON! 

*Side note, with fall being a busy season, we are changing up the days we post to Wednesday/Sunday from Tuesday/Thursday/Sunday. I'd love your feedback! It is such a gift to be able to write and hopefully inspire, and I (of course) always want to know how I can do that best for those who take the time to read these short insights!

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Rest precedes blessing

One of my friends posted the photo above on Facebook this week. It’s so peaceful to me that I just had to turn it into the blog photo for today.

I am reading Rebekah Lyon’s new book, Rhythms of Renewal, so the timing couldn’t be more perfect for this discussion. Several conversations with a variety of people in my life this week have revolved around the need for finding space, margin and really just flat out REST. I feel the reality is that we don’t allow ourselves to experience the capacity that God gave us to think, create, innovate and serve. We need to reconsider allowing ourselves to being scheduled out and consumed by the distractions around us. I’m always reminded that this is a choice, and if we don’t put some proverbial “muscle” around it, we will continue down a path that doesn’t quite give us the full energy we need to forge ahead in the most fulfilling way – nor really the way God intended us to live.

In her book, Lyon talked about the initial design of the human race, which clearly states that we were intended to rest: “On the seventh day (of the days of creation) He rested from all his work.” The part I hadn’t really noticed before was this: “Then God blessed the seventh day…” Aha! She noted, “Rest precedes blessing. We don’t have to run to earn rest, we run FUELED by a posture of rest.” Very cool. Anyone else need that?

Her story is one that showcases that she feels her life has been saved (she was having debilitating anxiety attacks) because she decided to pause and take a literal inventory… an inventory of evaluating her life and redefining priorities. Have you ever sensed your life was about more that it is today, but cannot quite get to the point of understanding what it is? Her inventory strategy was to sit down with someone she loved and capture all of the moments where she felt most alive, and then the moments where life wasn’t too much fun. That rather simple starting point offered her a course correction, if you will, and allowed her to move closer to what she felt called to do. In her words:

“Taking a break, resting from responsibility long enough to take inventory, was crucial to imagining God’s plan for my life.”

I kind of love that. How can we rest better? If we all make a commitment to doing this, we may just turn up the volume on truly realizing all we are intended to do in this one life of ours. My friends, have the most incredible week. I hear it’s going to be a beautiful and full of actual fall days and nights.

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Set your focus for the rest of 2019

What stands out to you from that list? I think the world needs more crazy and extravagant love. I don’t watch the news (thanks to my son Joe who pointed out the chaos of it all, and he was right… Now, I just get the highlights in other ways), but in passing televisions in airports, scrolling Twitter, and listening to the people surrounding me, I hear all of the stress. It points to the need to reset our minds to love.

We can all use the reminder to take our minds off of how [pick your poison] is impacting us personally. We are all wired to be selfish and that is, in many cases, critical to living safely and protecting ourselves. We can, however, get too focused and it’s important to recognize when we are too far in so we can shift our minds to the needs of those around us. There are many.

Prayer, reflection, intimacy with God. That is such a terrific call to action. Our hearts expand and our minds settle when we spend time alone with our faith. When we are able to cry out, even in the most subtle ways, and share our concerns and needs, we somehow are able to offload our soul and refill it with what is true and right. God’s word points us to peace, joy and love and ultimately provides all of the guidance we need to live well and serve well.

Have an incredible week.

Simple thoughts Sunday: You don’t need to fight…

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Your best strategy during a difficult moment is to simply relax and give the fighting to someone better equipped to handle it. Wouldn’t it calm your mind to know that you don’t have to say or do anything? No need to come up with the right words. Let that sink in.

This could be anything. For example, a car repair gone wrong, a derailed project, a relationship issue, or perhaps an unexpected delay in achieving a dream.

One scripture I have often been pointed to is Exodus 14:14; 

“The lord will fight for you, you need only be still.”

One of the larger challenges in life is to give up our desire to be everything someone needs – to be the problem solver, the magic wand, and curator of solutions for ourselves or others.

My friends, we have the greatest gift in that we can rest in knowing that God has better answers and solutions. We need only be still.

Side note: I love the quote below so much.

“Prayer is the difference between the best we can can do and the best God can do.”

Mark Batterson

I pray that I can be better at not striving to fight my own battles and give them up to the one who can handle them much better.

Confetti & a dance party: We are called to celebrate

Simple Thoughts Sunday

We are so much better when we praise. When we call out the light in others. When we express gratitude and let our love pour out to others. Doing that is pure CELEBRATION of all that God has provided for us! What’s great is that this doesn’t just sound good but it’s actually God’s idea, as you can see in the scripture above.

  • Party hats
  • Hands raised
  • Confetti
  • Bringing out the good wine
  • An all out dance party

All is wildly important. Our world is crazy awesome despite what the world may try to tell you sometimes. The people who God has surrounded us all with are truly good and helpful. (Short a very small handful that I am convinced are here mostly to refine our ability to overcome even the craziest encounters we may face. And maybe to add humor!)

Celebration is a form of praise.

Praise is a form of gratitude!

Gratitude is acknowledgement that you recognize that life is a gift.

That gift is meant to be shared with others. Celebrate them early and often!

Thanking God for each of you right now! Have an incredible week.

Avoid regret at all costs

Wow. Doesn’t the idea in the quote totally push you to think?

“I could have been amazing… I could have had more impactful days, full of love and positive energy… I could have….”

What areas of your life does this apply to? Your health?

“I could have been magnificent… optimizing my physical and mental health… but I didn’t like the discomfort of pushing myself… I was afraid my body couldn’t handle it.”

What about your tribe and your relationships?

“I could have made that call to repair that relationship… but I was afraid it would end up bad.”

Your finances?

“I could have made time to plan… meet with advisors that have experience on the topic… but I thought those professionals were only for people with more money than I have.”

This goes on. Our minds have this powerful ability to create pathways of fear that stop us from living our best lives. They may seem to be meaningless or fleeting thoughts, yet they creep in and somehow stop us from:

  • Increasing that work out routine and feeling ever more energy and vibrancy
  • Allowing ourselves to be truly happy in a relationship
  • Making that appointment to ensure our financial world will allow us to retire at some realistic point

This is a crazy powerful message. Let’s hold each other accountable to not allowing fear to impact our lives. I fully believe god intended us to thrive so that we can help those around us do the same. We are only better together if we are healthy ourselves!