To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

relationships

Great conversations: A template for 1-on-1 talks

(Photo Creds: We Heart It)

(I want to note that if you don’t happen to have kids, the ideas in this post could pretty much be used in any conversation with someone you care about… I hope you find it helpful!)

As a mom, I am always mindful of ways to be better in that role. As the boys get older, I find this more challenging. I want to be someone they can always trust to listen to their heart (without judgement), but someone who they know will also spur them along toward God’s gifting in their lives.  This can be done through encouragement, brainstorming the “possibilities” together and even rebuke and course-correction.

I’d have to say I’m not so good at the latter. I find it challenging given the different personality types knowing just how to approach certain topics, while honoring how they think and digest information. I long for the spirit of a great teacher or coach who knows just how to train and get the best out of their students.

Every summer of the boys’ younger years we went to an amazing family camp, Pine Cove in Tyler, Texas. Beyond the family excitement part, the best part for me was getting great training on parenting and leadership in the home. The parents had an opportunity to hear world-class speakers who spent a portion of each day speaking into us and giving us ideas on how to grow as a parent. I have found that since we aged out of camp, so to speak, a couple of years ago that it has been helpful for me to sit down for a week in the summer and maintain this focus, which is where this blog was birthed.

Through reading, scripture and conversation, I made this list of  questions or conversation starters that could be used as a template for these 1-on-1 discussions.

The idea here is to focus on soul questions:

  • How are you?
  • What are you seeing? Are you on the path you want to be on?
  • What do you think life is teaching you right now?
  • What are you learning?
  • Where do you want to travel? What do you have planned that is “fun” and filling of the soul?
  • What are you reading?
  • What are you living for?
  • What gets in the way?
  • How can I best help/encourage/inspire/support you?

This I hope gives you a list to start from. I’d love to hear what others you have!

Rewind: Lessons from the Farm

(Photo Credit: Pinterest)

(This is a partial throw back post to one from May 2016. Enjoy, friends!)

If you have any experience in farming, you know that while this image looks AMAZING, it didn’t get that way without a ton of hard work and investment.

Our theme this time last year started with the idea of “bold faith,” so much so that you would “bet the farm,” so to speak. That got me thinking about a life of excellence and how farmers really are pretty much the best of the best in demonstrating the value of hard work – among other things.

I had the opportunity to grow up around a farm thanks to my grandparents, and I can tell you two things:

  1. It is HARD WORK. PERIOD.
  2. Riding on the back of a truck while they are baling hay is not for the faint of heart. Snakes literally jump up while the ground gets pulled up and out! That part wasn’t a ton of fun, but I do recall summer “pool time” in the cow feeding trough! Hey, you gotta do what you can to have fun in Jasper, Mo.!

The lessons on the farm are too many to count, but here are a few that I feel really inspired by (with the help of Jeremie Kubicek. Maybe they’ll help you, too.

  • Lesson 1: BUILD A STRONG FOUNDATION – Healthy crops come from healthy topsoil. This is true in business and life. YOU MUST HAVE A CLEAR DIRECTION and GROWTH PLAN. If you don’t have one, today’s the day!
  • Lesson 2: POUR INTO THE FIELD – Farmers fertilize their fields and invest in the best products to ensure a healthy outcome. In life, we must “pour” into our children, our calling (work), our friends, etc. We can’t expect friendships to develop, careers to grow and children and grandchildren to excel without fertilization! Are there any key areas you need to “pour into” in your life?
  • Lesson 3: ELIMINATE THE WEEDS! – I love this one. For farmers, weeds choke the life out of the crops and damage the potential harvest. WOW – isn’t this one so true for all of us? We must weed out the negative thoughts, habits and sometimes even people from our lives that are holding us back! What do you need to “weed out” today?

Make it a great one!

Who is that one person….?

(Photo Creds: We Heart It)

Who is that one person that you meet with BUT not often enough? That person that no matter what, when you do get to share a conversation, they make you better? You leave smiling. You walk away going, “wow, I’m blessed.”

This question is a bit of a trick question, because at least for me, there is no way I could narrow this down to one person. Now, let’s make this a bit more difficult and unless there is absolutely no one else, let’s not think of dear friends or neighbors we see often, or immediate family members.

I did this little exercise a couple of weeks ago; reached out and scheduled lunch… AND, THIS IS THE WEEK. I get to meet with three of the coolest people and boy am I excited!

There is not much that should make us more “JOY CENTERED” than being with those people that most certainly God placed in our path for a reason, to change us for the better and create a life fulfilled.

Your challenge today is to at least come up with one…reach out and put it on the calendar.  A walk in the snow, a mid-day coffee break, a meal to break bread with those you love. Make it happen! I’d love to know if you joined me on this challenge.