Funky Table

I was desperate! It was late Saturday evening and I was dreading the last-minute preparations for the next day’s meal. I needed milk and cookies, so I escaped to the mega grocery store down the street around 10:00 p.m.

Somewhere between the frozen foods and vegetable aisles, I passed by the inspirational book section. John Maxwell’s book (co-authored with Les Parrot) entitled “25 Ways to Win with People” flung itself into my grocery cart. I hauled home a buggy-load of food, including that flinging-paperback and two bags of cookies.

Too tired to do housework or start preparations for the Sunday meal, I opted to feed my mind and spirit with some non-fiction reading before bedtime. I started reading “25 Ways”. I took that book to church with me the next morning. Read more. Read it while my beans cooked and my roast simmered. In less than 24 hours after it landed in my cart, I had read it from cover to covIn the “25 Ways” book, the author reminds us that “Few things bond people together like a shared memory.” One of the most inspiring statements in the book comes on page 27. “The richest memories are those we intentionally plan to create.”

These words rekindled the “fire in my belly” to live a life of creating moments for others. “What could I do today?” I mused.

As I was collecting ingredients for the super simple Sunday supper, I had an overwhelming impression to create a memory - intentionally. “Let’s eat in the front yard,” I suggested to my husband Mike, “and invite Janet (our next door neighbor who had been dealing with breast cancer) to eat supper with us.”

The backyard was a mess, we didn’t have a fancy outdoor table, and our lawn chairs were at our mountain house. But, it was time to do something fun that would minister to my sweet Janet. NO excuses.

I searched around the house and found a funky lime-green table, which sported four booted, striped legs, and stuff hanging off the edges. Mike hauled the table, plus three fancy dining room chairs to the front yard and parked them beside my one barely-blooming azalea bush. Mikes surveyed the eclectic combo, then looked back at me like I was a cracked crockpot.

Pot roast beef sandwiches were assembled and tossed onto mismatched paper plates with sides of potato chips and beans. I filled our glasses with peach tea and headed to the front yard for a spontaneous Sunday night supper experience at the funky table. Janet was totally surprised by the silly setting, and it made us all laugh.

I no longer have that precious neighbor with whom to share a spontaneous, simple moment. She lost the dreadful battle with cancer this year. The funky table and a photograph serve as markers to remind me of Janet and our time together.

Make and Track Moment

Buy a Calendar and Some Stickers

A thermostat senses the environment and determines when a change is needed. It is programmed to take action and make those changes. 

A thermometer reflects its environment. It doesn’t affect anything. It tells you what the temperature is, but it won’t do a darn thing about it. It just reacts.

When you look at yourself, your family, community and world, do you see things that need to change for the better? Do you observe and reflect (like a thermometer) or observe and react (like a thermostat)?

You can program your thinking to react to the needs around you. This new way of thinking can evoke positive change. For example, if you set your mind to do something nice for someone every week, your brain will respond to remind you. You will become attuned to the new “program” and soon, you will be automatically thinking about ways to accomplish this. Buy a cheap monthly planner and a pack of smiley face stickers. Each week try to do something nice for another person, and stick a smiley face on each date to track it. Monday’s are great days to put your thoughts into action. 

Some weeks you might fail, and some weeks you may do more than one nice thing per week. Even the smallest of gestures count. This effort will make you more observant of the people around you. The calendar and dots are the markers that will remind you to go forth and do nice things.

I challenge you to commit to making and marking one moment per week for 50 weeks. It IS doable. Try it and let me know how it works for you.

Once you commit to living a LIFESTYLE of focusing on others, your creativity and energy kicks in to help you actively pursue the challenge.

You become like a thermostat and change the environment!

Thermostat or Thermometer

A thermostat senses the environment and determines when a change is needed. It is programmed to take action and make those changes. 

A thermometer reflects its environment. It doesn’t affect anything. It tells you what the temperature is, but it won’t do a darn thing about it. It just reacts.

When you look at yourself, your family, community and world, do you see things that need to change for the better? Do you observe and reflect (like a thermometer) or observe and react (like a thermostat)?

You can program your thinking to react to the needs around you. This new way of thinking can evoke positive change. For example, if you set your mind to do something nice for someone every week, your brain will respond to remind you. You will become attuned to the new “program” and soon, you will be automatically thinking about ways to accomplish this.