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Archive for February, 2012

Discovering Your Calling

Posted in Calling, Faith and Work, Planning, Purpose, Seven Pillars of Faith and Work, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 24, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Why should we care what work we do? Why should we care where we work? It’s just work right? It’s something we have to do. We have to pay the bills, so we work.

          If that is our perspective, we are surrendering half of our lives                     to the landfill. 


One of our WorkMatters Seven Pillars of Faith at Work  is CALLING. This is the idea of aligning our God-given gifts and skills and passions with our work. But why should we care? How about this:

  1. We spend half our lives working. Shouldn’t it have purpose and meaning?
  2. Work is hard. Many of us are dissatisfied and frustrated.
  3. God cares about our work!

Let’s clarify what Calling is. As human beings, we are called into a personal relationship with Jesus. Then as believers, He calls us all to “go and make disciples of all nations”. This is a universal Calling which applies equally to all of us.

But, we have a 2nd Calling…to do the work that God created us to do! In Jeremiah 1:5, God said, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

God has a job for us to do!

The question is, will we invest the time and effort to better understand our calling? Most people don’t. They are essentially stagnant until they feel forced to make a move or they are reactive to a phone call. We need to be proactive in understanding who we are, what our skills are and what brings us joy.

Seven Ideas to Discover Your Calling

  1. Intimate relationship with God: pray, listen, wait, obey
  2. Learn who you are
  3. Step out of your comfort zone
  4. Determine the difference between a great idea…and an assignment from God
  5. Seek counsel
  6. Beware of your Enemy
  7. When its time…be courageous!

This should get you started. Don’t wait until you are forced to consider your calling. Invest some time now. Stay true to your current work. God has you there. Do it with Excellence. But spend some time on these seven ideas. It will change your life!

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You Care? You Serve!

Posted in Encouragement, Faith and Work, Friendship, Influence, Relationships, Servant Leadership, Serve on February 7, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Rob Hey continues his outstanding and practical teaching on what Serving looks like at work.  Print this and and put it where you will see it everyday when you get to the office!

This week at work, I took a close look at what I actually accomplished in serving others. My personal goal has always been to be able to serve others without making it a task.  It should be something that comes natural and part of my daily routine.  It is so easy to get absorbed in “self” and what we want to accomplish.  This week I’d like to focus on 5 ways to serve others which are a little out of the ordinary that we may not have thought about when it comes to serving.

  1.  “Be A Friend to Someone Who Doesn’t Deserve It”.  We know who these people are at work.  What we don’t know is what is going on in their lives.  Maybe they’ve made some wrong choices and need someone to help them get on the right track.  Reach out to them because you know that nobody else probably will.
  2.  “Put Away Your Cell Phone in Conversation”.  We are all guilty of having the cell phone right on our desk when we visit with people.  Even if we don’t answer it, if it rings, beeps, or vibrates, we take our attention off the conversation even if it is brief.  Make it a point to tell them you need to turn off your phone because their conversation is important to you.
  3. “Allow Others to Speak Before You”.  In a meeting you have scheduled, start by asking everyone to share their thoughts and ideas before you speak.  Let them know you want to hear what they are thinking, listen intently and take notes.  I truly believe taking notes when others are speaking shows a great deal of respect and in turn, they understand how important they are to the conversation.
  4. “Buy Someone Lunch”.  Take a day in the next week to look for someone at work that you can take to lunch.  Not the same people you go with on a regular basis, but someone out of your comfort zone.  Who at work looks like they are struggling?  Who always eats in the cafeteria or break room and you know probably can’t afford to eat out?  Find that person and just invite them to have lunch with you.
  5. “Hand Write a Thank You Card”.  One of my favorite things to do at work on a regular basis is to recognize someone through a card or note.  It can be recognition for anything as long as it is genuine.  “Congratulations on winning that award, Good Job on the presentation yesterday, I was really impressed with the way you handled that situation, I’m really proud of you for earning that promotion”.

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Showing Up to Serve

Posted in Adversity, Encouragement, Faith and Work, Friendship, Serve on February 1, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Rob Hey continues to share his powerful insights regarding how we can more effectively serve those we work with.  This is a powerful story!

A few weeks ago, one of my fellow co-workers experienced some unexpected major health issues and ended up needing open heart surgery.  It was a shock to everyone at the office as it happened so quick.  In the break room getting coffee the next morning, I heard several people talking about what they should do for him.  Does the family need any help?  Do you think he wants any visitors?  I listened throughout the day to many people asking me questions regarding how he was doing, and was he recovering ok.  The next morning, not as much talk as everyone went about their daily routine and every now and then someone would mention him, but he sure wasn’t the point of conversation today.  Everyone had moved on with their busy lives.

I struggled as well with what to do for those two days.  Heart surgery is a big deal and I didn’t know how I could help him or his family.  The third morning I drove to the hospital and went straight to his room.   He looked up and gave me a smile.   I went over to his bedside and said, “I didn’t know if you needed anything, but I thought I’d drop by and just check on you”.  He was so appreciative and said nobody but his family had been to visit.  He didn’t have the strength to say much and so I just sat in a chair in his room while he dozed in and out for about 45 minutes.

His wife came in, informed me that she had been running a few errands for the kids, and had to leave him alone for a little while.  She didn’t know who she could call to come sit with him since everyone was so busy.  I informed her that I was always available, just to call.  Her words that followed really made me appreciate the time I took out of my day to come see him, “Thanks so much, I didn’t want to interrupt anyone’s day and just didn’t know who to reach out to”.  She called me two more times over the next few days and asked  if I could do small errands for her which I was more than happy to do.

The point is….Don’t ever underestimate the power of just showing up when someone is in need.    During those times, people don’t always think clearly so sometimes you just need to show them you are there for them.  Often they won’t ask for help, but they really need it. This is especially true at work!

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