To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Love

Simple Thoughts Sunday: The magic of humanity

Hey… you… yeah, you.
 
This post is about you.

As a woman of faith, one thing I know to be true is that God created us all with absolute perfection. Everyone you meet – every last one of them – was designed for a purpose, for the generation they were born into. Every person – especially the most seemingly hard to love – were once a child ready to be poured into and ready to pour out to improve our world.

It’s useful to be reminded, especially during the holiday season, that there are a lot of people that really could use this message. Our communities are filling with stories of pain, heart ache, dreams shattered, illness and love lost. The innocence of that once-happy child is only a memory now. It is up to us to recognize this reality and provide a light of hope and joy to those in our presence.

If you are reading this, I’m certain that you, like me, truly want to “serve well.” Your heart is willing and able and that is exactly what we need more of. We need to stand with an internal motivation to be on watch for those that this week could use some extra encouragement… to be seen, to be heard, to be loved. I feel this ability we all have is the magic of humanity. We have this great power to hold and be a lights for others, and that is where our beauty really shines.

Praying that you and your loved ones cherish the moments this week and that you are able to bring your joy to those who may be counting on you.

Emotionally exhale this Labor Day weekend

(Photo Creds: Canva)

How are you making this Labor Day weekend count? I like to think that this holiday isn’t just about taking a break, but rather about emotionally exhaling.

This weekend used to wind down the summer before school started. Alas, that isn’t the case anymore. August’s onslaught of obligations, activities, etc. are in full force for most of us. But wait, didn’t summer just start? So obviously, Labor Day weekend is a really good time to take a breather.

“Emotionally exhaling” doesn’t take much. (That’s sort of the point.)

Reading, life planning, sharing a meal or two with friends or family, a visit to the farmer’s market, and  a chance to take in the last days of poolside bliss. Those work for me, but for others it’s about rock climbing, marathons and shopping extravaganzas. Reflect on what this weekend should look like for you based on the season of your life. Be a little selfish – you deserve it.

There is a great book that came out a few years ago called “The Best Yes” by Lysa Terkeurst. It calls out to us to make the best decision for ourselves at that given moment and season. So, what does your soul need this weekend? There is still time to make it happen.

Whatever you do with the rest of your long weekend, I hope that you will emotionally exhale.

Let’s be GENEROUS with our love and praise

It’s so natural and easy to be generous with our love – at least with some people in our lives. This picture draws to mind a grandfather and granddaughter, which reminds me of those in our close circle who we are able to embrace so much easier (most of the time, that is…). That’s a good thing!

Today, however, I’m thinking about how to be generous with love with all people. It’s absolutely essential that we all learn or grow this character quality of generously giving love, praise and gratitude. It makes our world the best place, when we all come to the table with this approach and attitude. Here are a couple of things that I am contemplating:

  • Too often, we jump into a conversation – let’s use the business world as an example – and start right into the topic at hand. We establish meeting agendas and construct our days with a focus on getting the work done. That’s America in action.

    What if we all held ourselves accountable with setting up every conversation, every meeting agenda, every day with the focus on people first? What if we genuinely took time to express genuine praise, or to share a fun story to highlight someone’s wins? What if? Wouldn’t it be nicer? Wouldn’t the energy increase? Wouldn’t the culture and momentum of the team build?

  • I’m also giving thought to the fact that there is so much power in the written word. Let’s not forget that while our schedules heat up with back to school, sports and a renewed focus on wrapping up the year strong, that we need to stop and generously offer words of encouragement. A tiny post it note of thanks will often be found on someone’s work space wall, home desk or tucked in a wallet for months and years to follow. People need and want to be recognized. That’s all people, regardless of status, title or age. If our schedules somehow get in the way of putting pen to (actual) paper, then I would submit that generously sending text messages or emails are also powerful. Those, like the post-it note, can be screenshot, and will serve as an ongoing reminder to people of their impact.

This is so important and I hope today that you will join me in being generous with your love and praise.

Lessons from the longest living people in the world… A summary of the world’s Blue Zones

You’d think with it being summer and all, I’d be reading more than ever. Well, as I shared in last week’s blog, I have been saying “yes” a lot more, which equates to not as much time to read.  I’ll get to a good balance soon. In the meantime, I finished up the Blue Zones book by Dan Buettner tonight, and it was amazing as I expected. It’s been on my list for too long.

In case you are unfamiliar, The Blue Zones is a term coined scientists coined for the areas of the world with the largest concentration of the longest-lived people. (Specifically while mapping one of the regions on the island of Sardinia. Shout out to my Italian readers and their beautiful country!) As the cover says, this book is a “must read if you want to stay young!”

Most of the lessons aren’t surprising, but it is inspiring to hear the stories of the lives of those thriving in these amazing communities. The areas can be found in small villages in Sardinia (Italy), Okinawa (Japan), Loma Linda (California), Nikoya (Costa Rica) and Ikaria (Greece). I summed up the primary lessons below, but as the picture in this blog states, having a purpose is what I feel stood out the most. That purpose is putting you square in the middle of a community of friends, family and faith that lift you into a world with less stress than most of us ever see, and a clear sense of joy and love. I hope all of that for each of you. For me, I need to do some research on how to retire to one of these beautiful places!

Lesson 1: MOVE NATURALLY. Engage in regular, low-intensity physical activity. If you are older, combine balance exercises, get on the ground and get up often, and practice staying limber and flexible. (Most of these people regularly sit on a floor (not from a recliner or bed) and get up several times a day, so they stay on the move.)

Lesson 2: HARA HACHI BU. For Okinawans, this is a phrase they say often while eating to remind themselves to stop eating when they are 80 percent full. Love the simplicity of implementing this.

Lesson 3: PLANT SLANT. Avoid processed foods and meat. In all of these areas, they are not in the habit of eating meat or fish on a regular basis, and they pretty much do not eat any processed foods. It’s all about eating off of the earth.

Lesson 4: GRAPES OF LIFE. Drink red wine, in moderation. I have lots of friends who love this one – me too! The true strategy here is take it easy with 1-2 glasses per day. When we drink any more than that, the negative consequences outweigh the health benefits.

Lesson 5: PURPOSE NOW. Take time to see the big picture. See the notes on Ikigai above.

Lesson 6: DOWNSHIFT. Taking time to relieve stress is of the highest importance, including reducing noise, napping and meditating… All things we know and don’t engage in enough.

Lesson 7: BELONG. Participate in a spiritual community. In every one of these areas there is a strong concentration on their faith life.

Lesson 8: LOVED ONES FIRST. Simple: Make family a priority.

Lesson 9: RIGHT TRIBE. Be surrounded by those who share Blue Zone values. Being around healthy minded people is essential. The key is making sure you are committed to regular time with those people.

I highly recommend the book. If you want to take the online quiz to establish where you are on your current “expected life expectancy” you can find it on the Blue Zones home page. You can also use it to develop a plan to live longer. For example, mine gave me some strategies to gain three years if I follow their advice. It’s pretty interesting if you like those types of exercises. Have an awesome weekend.

 

 

Make Summer count

Summer! I absolutely loved yesterday morning with the cooler temps and a neighborhood that literally seemed like everyone was outside. I loved last week, with the hotter temps, driving by local pools and seeing the children literally loving these moments of bliss. Childhood surely has the best of all worlds. It’s true, “adulting” is hard.

Here’s the thing though, we all get to choose how we want to “adult.” We get to choose (for the most part) our weekend plans and how we might enjoy the longer weekday nights

So, I really don’t want to be the one to state the obvious, but we have about eight weekends left of summer. (Meaning before the schools begin to open and the general pace accelerates from what seems like 20 mph to 100 mph in no time.)  We get to create, design, craft and author our moments. Isn’t that so cool? So, what will you do…

Decide you will make no PLANS on any Saturday?

Organize a patio “lunch or brunch” with your favorite people at least once a week (maybe 3 is better?)?

Sneak out to a park and find a swing and act like a child again… wind catching you as you pump your legs into the air?

Grab your bike and make your way to the local coffee or ice cream shop for a summer treat?

Sit outside and simply listen to nature’s call?

Take a long drive to the country, visiting small towns and all of their charm?

Absolutely one has to be at the lake… I hope you all love that as much as I do.

I could go on and on. My recommendation is to give some thought now as to just what the ideal summer might be for you, and make it happen. I hope you have a glorious day and that you do what you can to MAKE IT COUNT.

Simple thoughts Sunday: Honoring moms of all types…

  1. Happy Mother’s Day to all of you who are a biological mom, play the role as needed, stepped into the magic of it all unexpectedly, or otherwise have helped raise up this generation of our children.

For many generations and in all cultures, it has been true that it “takes a village” to raise a healthy community. I absolutely cherish that thought, because I immediately think of the people that have played a role in my life knowingly, or not; and also, those who have in the lives of my children.

Today, as you celebrate your own mother — if you are lucky enough to still have one — my prayer is that you will reach out to those that may have given you or your kids a boost when you or they needed it. There is so much power in community and so much love that is needed to wrap up each other so that we can all be who God intended. If you have lost your mother, my prayer is that you will find great joy today in knowing how thrilled she was to raise you and I believe looks down and even protects you today with her undying love.

(Update on our mom: She is still healing and we are hoping to get “her” back. Today, we celebrate the many caregivers who have helped in this process and continue to shower her with love and prayers.) 

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Living in abundance

Most of you know that on Sunday’s I usually write about my faith. This thought was powerful for me and I hope it will be for you. What do I mean by abundance? Here’s what I am thinking:

Abundance in positive thinking (vs fear)

Abundance in joy

Abundance in strength

Abundance in prayer

Abundance in deepening friendships

Abundance in health

Abundance in wisdom

Abundance in generosity for others

That’s a short list. What areas of your life do you need or desire “abundance” in?

God’s word tells us that he desires for us to have great victory in this life. (The Psalms are a great place to find these messages first… Psalm 37:4 is a good start.) 

If we can lean in on Him, instead of our own understanding, we can experience the freedom of His love and provision over our lives. I pray that this week you will pray for ABUNDANCE in the areas that might help your life to overflow with just what you need. When we are filled, we can exponentially give back to others.

Redemption: The conversation is getting personal

My mom is in the hospital, suffering from multiple seizures. As of now, we have no idea why, but know her brain is somehow off track. It’s ugly.

When she comes out she is either elated and child-like, or unfortunately agitated and angry. In the moments we’ve had, she’s gone back to draw up childhood experiences I didn’t even know happened, and also told us how deeply she loved us. The love part may seem normal to some, but for us, not so much.

Without going into too much detail, my mom has suffered from mental illness for her entire adult life that my sister, brother and I have been around to witness. That is up until the last 4 years.

I remember my sister saying that “we finally have a mom,” a mere 4 years ago when I was 46. It is a story of healing and redemption. I love movies, especially the redemption-based love stories where love heals and the heart settles into deep joy. We all have our own movie reel going: the story of our lives. We all experience at some point a range of emotions and of course strive for love and peace.

If you are questioning whether you will ever get to the point of redemption in a relationship with someone you care deeply about, please believe that there is hope. Just 5 years ago, I never thought this was possible and wished someone had shared their story of hope with me. You know that saying, “God is good all of the time, and all of the time God is good.” I believe He is good all of the time and sometimes we need help seeing the forest through the trees, so to speak.

Thank you for allowing me to share my story of redemption. I pray it is healing. If you happen to be a praying person, we’d covet your prayers for God’s will for our mom. She truly is a wonderfully dear person, who didn’t deserve to suffer with mental illness and didn’t choose that. I know that now.

(If for some reason any of you would want to know more about this in hopes that it would help, please reach out. I’d be more than happy to share the details.)

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Onward we can… onward we are better

Happy Sunday everyone! I am sure you may have seen someone close their email signature or their letters/cards with a simple, “Onward.” A statement that may reflect their faith or their hope in the future.

This past week was the annual Give Seven Days events in Kansas City as I shared in my Thursday blog. It’s a week where the community comes together to learn and unify. In its fourth year, it is gaining momentum in our community. Like others across our world, perhaps we feel the need greater than at any other time in our generation. The need, the desire… to come together and ensure we are able to live in a world of peace, a world that welcomes all, and where all receive the love and support they need to enjoy a healthy life. It has been powerful, certainly giving a strong meaning to the word ONWARD, and sparking thoughts on just how we can be a part of this positive future. Where can we step in and ensure we are educating ourselves and doing our part for our families and loved ones?

On Monday, the week will conclude with the Faith & Love Walk which will be at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Mo. Events start at 5:30 with the walk at 6:30. There will be food trucks as well for those who want to grab dinner with friends or family. It is a simple and short walk which has the purpose of showing our unity with one another in our community. I hope you will strongly consider bringing out your crew, or joining ours at the event.

If you aren’t able to join, I hope that you will think about how you can best help your family learn about others in our communities and how we can together create greater understanding and inspire love for all who walk our path.

My prayer is that your week will be the best this year!

In a world of conflicting opinions, we must get to a place of respect

Our nation was in full ACCELERATE mode this weekend with  “March Madness” games, the youth-led walks across the nation to raise awareness of the desire of “the people” to achieve greater gun control laws, and the celebration of Palm Sunday.

All areas of which there are opposing views. It’s no surprise when I asked one of my dear friends if they had any blog ideas for me, that the immediate response was on how we can best respect differing opinions.

I’m not sure I have any profound thoughts, but my hope would be to get to a better conversation. To truly think through how we honor one another best without allowing our personal opinions to be in overdrive, which often results in the opposite.

Here are my initial thoughts…

  • We must “get to” a point of listening with the intent to understand. This is a call to not listen or simply “hear” with the intent to respond.
  • We must honor where others come from, remembering that just like us, their opinion didn’t come about overnight. They too have come to the conversation with history and perspective that is true to them.
  • We must also be true to our own perspective, and share it when it matters and not be silent. We must share with grace, with subtle power and with love.

There is so much to talk about with this topic, but I believe that if we keep honor in mind first, we can have opposing opinions and continue to push through to a better world for the future generations.