Above and Beyond

So here it is the end of February already and it's time to tell you how I didn't do so well with February's life theme. However, I did notice lots of other people excelling at it!

This past month, I wanted to focus on going above and beyond people's expectations. This does not come naturally to me. I have enough trouble just meeting expectations in various areas of my life.

On February 1, I woke up very early thinking about how many things were piled up at work. So I got up at 4:15, and was at the office by 5:45 to do certificates for the Academic Awards Dessert that was happening the next day. I went straight from work to Millersburg to meet Sara, the co-director of our women's retreat. We went to Aldersgate (retreat location near Salem) and had dinner there, also meeting with the chef and discussing our menu. I had planned to come home and make a dessert for  the Academic Awards, but by 8:30 pm, I recognized my limitations and stopped at the store on the way home and bought a dessert.

I was pretty proud of myself and thought I was off to a great start to a month of going above and beyond expectations! Unfortunately, it was  downhill after that! I did a few little things here and there, but nothing worth bragging about! Oh wait, I did take a boy home one rainy day when he was standing outside the school an hour after the dance ended and he couldn't get ahold of anyone. (I was scared to death the whole way that I would get in an accident and the kid would get hurt and his dad would kill me. His dad once yelled at me when he forgot to pick up the boy after school and the kid disappeared. Dad declared that I should know his son is an airhead and do a better job of watching out for him. True story. Turned out the kid walked the three miles home in the rain that day.)

I digress. But anyway, I constantly observed people who amazed me the way they went above and beyond!

Like the parent who surprised us on February 2 by bringing in a gallon of coffee from Starbucks for us, saying she knew it would be a long day with the Academic Awards that evening.

Like my co-worker Trudi. When someone comes in and needs to go to the Counseling Office, I just tell them that it's around the corner, fourth door on the left, and it says "Counseling" above the door. Not Trudi. She gets up out of her chair and actually walks them around the corner. But that's nothing. One day she supervised a "BEAR Time" acro-yoga class when the leader was absent. I was shocked when she came back and said she let a student "fly" her, with other students gathered around spotting.  She said it felt a little intrusive with his stinky feet on her tummy lifting her in the air, but he wanted to show off his skills, and she was willing to sacrifice her own comfort level. It made him really happy that she trusted him to do it. What a saint! I admire her so much!

Another day I got a call from a parent (who is a full time teacher at another school) asking how many staff we had. She brought treats several times last year, including some amazing strawberry shortcake last June. She showed up on Valentine's Day with red and pink heart trays and platters filled with fancy cupcakes, strawberries and chocolate, enough for all 68 of our staff. Now, my office co-workers and I also brought treats for staff, but my contribution was not quite that awesome! (Ok, it was just a bowl of little orange Cuties! But it was healthy!) This woman amazes me - I don't expect any parent to bring treats for the whole staff, much less multiple times a year, and absolutely fabulous ones at that!

This is getting lengthy, but I have to mention the awesome hairstylist Lacy Kennedy (at the Lyon's Den downtown Albany). She colored my hair a couple weeks ago and I asked for something a little different, maybe a little red. Let's just say it took a great deal of extra time and effort before a little red turned into something we were both pleased with. I was then shocked at how much less she charged than I have been paying someone else the past many years. Really, that's all you charge after you work on my hair for three hours? And the whole time with a smile on your face and not the slightest hint that I am a huge pain in the rear?! She even let me know when she had a little block of time open the next week if I wasn't satisfied with something! I love you, Lacy!

I have been very busy the past two weeks working with an amazing team of women getting ready for our annual church women's retreat. If I tried to tell all the ways these nine women exceeded expectations, this would get very long indeed. So I will just say that after months of observing all the behind-the-scenes things they did, and then seeing the results of their talents and efforts, I hold all of them in the highest esteem.  They excel in areas such as decor, drama, publications, worship and music, activity planning, details and follow through, and best of all, loving God and caring about other women.  They are encouraging and totally fun to be with! I have learned so much from being around them and they inspire me to be a better person. Interestingly enough, the motto of Aldersgate, where our retreat was held, is "Exceeding Expectations"!

So I am disappointed in my own lack of follow through on this desirable character quality, but feel very fortunate indeed that I seem to be surrounded by people who constantly exceed expectations! (Including my own dear husband who was out scraping snow off my car before 7 AM today!) I don't have time or energy to list nearly all the examples I saw! I'll keep my eyes open for opportunities to exceed!

I am excited about next month's theme and hope to do better with it. I'll tell you all about it soon.

Hope in 2012

In December of 2011, I realized that an amazingly fabulous date would be happening the next year. My next birthday will take place on 12/12/12! I began to ponder how I could possibly celebrate in a way that was worthy of this "golden" birthday! (My age will even be a multiple of 12! Well, ok, 12.5 x 4!)  I forewarned Will that obviously 2012 was going to be a great year and that we should start planning the birthday party now!  He resigned himself to the fact that 2012 would be all about me. I expect nothing less from my loving husband.

As I contemplated how to build up to this momentous day of celebration, I mulled the possibility of choosing a topic or quality each month to learn about and focus on, something that would benefit my life as well as the lives of those around me and make this a memorable year.

Then on December 31st, my niece Brianna gave birth to her first child, Janae Hope, and the baby faced serious complications, as I shared in Hope for 2012.  I began to think about hope, and my first month's focus was chosen for me.

On the last day of January, I was able to post a picture of her sweet face with no tubes! Her feeding tube just came out, and her lungs have recovered slowly but surely. When she is able to eat and keep enough down, it sounds like she will be able to finally go home. Hope and faith are alive in her parents and all those who love her.

What is hope, really? The first thing that comes to my mind is my little sister, Hope, who I enjoyed calling "Hope Dope Cantalope" many years ago. Funny how still sometimes when I hear or say the word "hope",  immediately "hope dope cantalope" echoes in my mind!

In the Bible, hope is a confident expectation that something will happen. It is the part of faith that is focused on the future. I looked up "hope" in BibleGateway.com and got 178 Scripture references. It's hard to pick out the favorites, but I have to share a few.

Job 13:15 "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face."

Psalm 43:5  "Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." (How many times is that repeated?! Interesting!)

Psalm 62:5,6 "Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

Psalm 119:147 "I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word."

Isaiah 40:31 "But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

This past month, the importance of placing my hope in God has been so evident as I have been around friends who are dealing with the loss of loved ones, who are suffering from illness themselves or in loved ones, who are discouraged about loved ones with addictions or who are making other destructive choices, and other seemingly hopeless situations. My hope is in the God who created the universe, the God "who is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us" (Eph. 3:20-21).  The only way to have joy in spite of these situations is to place our hope in God and wait on Him.


January was an awesome month, with prayers answered, successful weight loss efforts, and retreat planning with an amazing group of women who have become wonderful friends and prayer partners. February promises to bring all kinds of fun and excitement! I'll tell you about February's theme when the month is over. Or maybe sometime this month. It all depends what happens and whether or not the mood to write strikes at the moment I have the time to sit down and write! Hmm, maybe self-discipline will have to be the focus of one of the months. Doesn't that sound entertaining and uplifting!