Serve by Design

As advertised in my blog postscript, I am a doting grandfather and Poppi! With four grown children and twelve grandchildren, we have been able over the years to make several observations about these family members based upon their birth order. Those firstborns have tended to be high achievers (if not over achievers!), perfectionists, and sometimes, bossy leaders! The youngest of their families are happy, predictably spoiled, and love the spotlight! Charlie - Stepping Up... Again!! What about the middle child or the one I have always observed as the “most well-adjusted” of them all? As a confrontive, competitive firstborn, I am thankful to have married a well-adjusted, adaptable second born! It is a blessing, too, that Monique brings harmony and common sense to our relationship and family! She is the “glue” that holds us all together! While I am devoted to each of our children, (spouses included!) and grands, I have come to champion, in special ways, those in the “middle” of their fam...

A popular idiom in our day is for an individual to be so focused on his or her sport, creative endeavor, or work engagement, that it is observed by others that they are “in the zone!” In these early days of the baseball season, my favorite team has some exciting young players named Church, Wetherholt, Winn, and Jordan who are achieving this seemingly effortless state of hitting and fielding at such a competitive level that these guys are certainly performing “in the zone!” Focused! In the Zone! Image: stock.adobe.com Athletes aren’t the only ones who “get in the zone” of accomplishment. Our church has recently been celebrating a dozen or so young people who have just completed sixteen weeks of instruction in their confirmation class. The Sunday Bible study class, Monique and I attend, got to partner in their efforts the other evening by serving their pre-instruction pizza and salad meal. These students were in their next to last session and the topic of the evening was spiritual gift...

We’re a little blurry-eyed today coming off three days and two nights of sitting our four local grands! Don’t misunderstand me. They are great kids between sixteen and eight years old! We love each of them dearly. But, like many their age, the youthful energy levels and summer schedules don’t match the more laidback and senior adult lifestyle of their grandparents! 😊 Charlie on the job! What's that in your jaw?😂 One of the things I enjoyed most about having them under my roof for a few days is that I got that informal one-on-one time with each of them. I am amazed at how quickly they are growing up and how much more mature and perceptive they are becoming. These past brief days have flown by and once again, have left us with many cherished memories. We ate at the same table, went to ballgames and the park, watched television, visited the coffee shop and snow cone stand, and just enjoyed hanging out together! Fun! As you already know, I am a shamelessly doting grandfather! I pray ...

At eighty years of age, Tom Peters is regarded as one of the most influential leaders, motivational consultants, and prolific authors of our day. He has nineteen book titles to his credit. In 1982, Peters and Robert Waterman, Jr., co-wrote the best-selling book,   In Search of Excellence . Forty years later, millions of copies have been sold and it continues to be one of the leading resources for CEO’s, company managers and organizational leaders! I   listened to an online podcast interview this week with Tom Peters and was immediately captivated by his enthusiastic, salty (Navy vet!), and sometimes profane, but straightforward style of speaking. Credit: Adam Nemeroff, unsplash.com Peters espouses a social management approach to leadership. He made it clear in the interview that management is not just about strategy, structure, and organization! Rather, excellent leadership focuses on the principle that “people are the only thing that matters!” And this translates into “People...

It’s not always easy to find what you are good at and what you enjoy doing, too! Our two oldest grandsons, Brady and Ben, have had the initial experience of declaring a major now that they have completed their application processes to enter college in the fall. Brady has chosen business and Ben is thinking he will do a double major in biology and art. I think it is predictable that they will likely refine their choices. It’s been my observation that many young college students change their majors within the first couple of years of college! Image credit: picsgag.com I am watching with prayers and great interest, as the middle-aged guys of our family (the dads of those same new college students) have already moved through a few chapters of change in their own professional careers. Advancements often feel like two or three slow steps forward and sometimes… one or two steps backwards! The increased responsibility and pay are rewarding, but the adjustments to change in the workplace can th...

I had a delightful experience this week standing at my front door and looking at the pots of petunias that I had planted back in the spring. They were doing fairly well even after the stresses of this summer's dry spells. While enjoying the vibrancy of their assorted colors, I looked more closely at the dozens of blooms and immediately noticed a hummingbird busily working to harvest the abundance of nectar. It was an amazing lesson in productivity! Image Credit: unspash.com Did you know that there are over three hundred and sixty species of hummingbirds in North America? These ambitious little creatures are known for their intelligence, spatial memory, geographic predictability, and even social interactions with humans. With skill and dexterity, they hover over and alongside the trumpet and tubular-shaped flowers of our neighborhoods while using their elongated beaks to draw out nectar and small insects as a food source. In addition to resourcing the flowers for food, they are also...

I have made an observation based upon a study of the spiritual gifts and the related areas of the spiritual disciplines in the Bible. Simply stated: caring people care, teachers and preachers teach and preach, prayer "warriors" pray, the merciful show mercy, encouragers encourage, and so on down the list of possible categories for service. My conclusion in the matter is that you can identify a believer's spiritual gift mix and the spiritual disciplines that define development in the faith by observing the actions and outcomes of their life in Christ.  When this is applied to giving and generosity, I can declare with sincerity that "givers have to give!" Recently, it was reported in the news that two individuals I do not know personally gave large monetary gifts away. It's what they do! Scott Kolbrenner donated all of his $145,000 winnings as a contestant on Wheel of Fortune to two local charities in Los Angeles. Verda Tetteh, a high school senior with a full...