LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"You have such a pretty face, you should be on a Christmas card." Buddy (the Elf)

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

We've been on a journey this year, learning, listening and digging in and now as we come into December let's just PAUSE a little and catch our breath. As the year winds down, it doesn't mean we just stop all that we're doing, but let's change up the pace.

To read past quotes & thoughts.... CLICK HERE.

I'm going to simply share some Christmas Time Quotes this month, and encourage you to reflect, recharge, restore, reconnect, and then restart to the best of your ability!

Continuing in our Christmas Quote Theme, I laughed when I found this quote from Buddy the Elf.

Every Christmas, there are some movies that I just need to watch, but I usually don't watch them in one setting, I catch glimpses of them throughout the month... movies like Elf, Christmas Vacation, White Christmas and It's a Wonderful Life. Lately there have been a lot of Hallmark Christmas Movies showing, but I can't really tell where one ends and the other begins.

Remember this month, we're just pausing a little bit.

Last week we talked about REFLECTION. In fact, I came across this quote from Winston Churchill the other day that summed up the thought well:

"Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection."

I hope that you've found some ways to add REFLECTION to your daily rhythm during these days.

The next word I want to look at is the word RECHARGE.

I don't know about you, but it's been a FULL year. I hit December, and I'm just worn out. The idea of finding time to RECHARGE is really appealing to me this year, so I need to get creative to think of ways to do that.

I've learned that I can RECHARGE lot's of different ways...

• Wrestling on the floor with my grandson, while it's exhausting, I love it!

• The other night, trying to get my 1 year-old grand daughter to fall asleep was a challenge, but it was also such a joy to be sitting with her in the dark.

While these involve small people in my life, they help me find perspective, purpose and real joy.

This weekend Gina and I did a long walk at the coast... the weather was beautiful, the company was wonderful and it was a time of RECHARGING.

Also, grabbing a moment early in the morning to focus on a passage of scripture, listen to lectio or ponder a question is a time of RECHARGING.

Here's the secret: You need to define what RECHARGES you! You might be able to steal my items, but it's much more about what fuels you. I'll talk a little more about that below.

This month I'll share a few quotes, and then will spend some time on each of these words: reflect, recharge, restore, reconnnect & restart.

How are you able to RECHARGE in the midst of being busy, of running through the holiday, or of simply being exhausted? What works for you?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more." The Grinch/Dr. Seuss

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

We've been on a journey this year, learning, listening and digging in and now as we come into December let's just PAUSE a little and catch our breath. As the year winds down, it doesn't mean we just stop all that we're doing, but let's change up the pace.

To read past quotes & thoughts.... CLICK HERE.

I'm going to simply share some Christmas Time Quotes this month, and encourage you to reflect, recharge, restore, reconnect, and then restart to the best of your ability!

The other day I was flipping through the channels after watching the Lakers play and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas was on. I watched about 3 minutes of the show (The Original) and it brought back so many memories.

That thought from The Grinch above is so true... "Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

I don't know what it is about the Christmas Season, but it's always a time of reflection. Memories from years and years ago, reminders of traditions that we return to each year and then some time to simply think about what's happened in my life over the past 11 months.

I was on a call with my brother, sister and parents the other day, and it's always interesting how quickly we slide back into our childhood roles. We quickly flash back to 50 years ago, and assume the same roles we played then.

I think the Christmas Season does that as well. Traditions, experiences, memories, relationships... everything comes back as we contemplate the days and weeks before us and as we reflect on every Christmas from our past.

This month I'll share a few quotes, and then will spend some time on each of these words: reflect, recharge, restore, reconnnect & restart.

What does the Christmas Season mean to you today? What has it always meant to you?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Reverse engineer an outcome: Think of what you want to be different because you gathered, and work backward from that outcome." Priya Parker

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This is the final post on Priya Parker, the author of the book, The Art of Gathering. It's been fun to do a deep dive with you over the past 2 months, and I've received many comments and thoughts on the book as well as the quotes we've targeted.

To read past quotes & thoughts.... CLICK HERE.

Let's end with this quote above, which really aligns with Parkers overall theme of the book.

She's talking about PURPOSE.

Often, when we plan a gathering of some kind: a meeting, a dinner party, a large event, we begin by asking: Where will we meet? When will we meet? Who's invited? Once we answer those questions, we then look at the program and plan.

Parker is simply telling us to begin this way, "reverse engineer the outcome".

Don't start with these questions, but start with this one:

"When this gathering is over, what do I want to be true

that isn't true right now?"

That desired change - the outcome - should determine every choice you make.

I remember attending a youth leaders retreat in Cuba years and years ago. I was coming as one of the speakers, and there were about 90 leaders attending. I had a lot of expectations and ideas about what a retreat should look like, so I was really surprised when we rode in the back of a truck for 4 hours to attend this conference. It was held in an old building in Eastern Cuba, and there weren't enough chairs for people to sit in, there was no sound system, the food was served in paper trays, they hadn't been able to copy my notes for people and I was just exhausted from the travel. My expectations...

What followed was 3 days of deep Community... laughter, tears, vulnerability, learning, celebrating, understanding and safety.

My friend, Pancho, who led this retreat, knew exactly what this group of people needed and he knew what to focus on and what not to focus on.

The result was a moment in time when leaders were connected, encouraged and equipped which was the goal. We all endured the drive, lacked some sleep, sat on the ground, ate off of cardboard and survived without a flashy powerpoint presentation because these things weren't important... connection, encouragement and equipping was the goal.

I'll never forget that retreat. I learned so much about myself and I was inspired by these Cuban leaders who fully understood this concept of "gathering with purpose".

Think of a time where you experienced this "Purpose Driven Gathering" yourself? What stood out to you? What did you learn?