day 1310: "Random Access...."

“So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

I'm now back from over a full week in Los Angeles for The GRAMMYs.  Among many events that I attended, none was more cool than the Special Merit Awards where the Lifetime Achievement Awards are conducted. Because I was a part of presenting the first ever GRAMMY Music Educator Award, Patti and I had front row seats and all the inductees filed past us as they came in and took their places, also on the front row.  This was a special year because The Beatles were honored along with Kris Kristofferson.  An interesting thing happened that day that I began to call "Random Access" (partly because of the name of the album that won best of the year).  Here is what happened.  Because our seats were in the walking path of the inductees and all of the "important" people would pass by, I had people who weren't sitting where we were, come and talk to me, very obviously, so they would have access to the inductees as they passed and their meetings would look "random".  The conversations that these people were holding with me, was obvious in their length as they were, almost parasitically, hanging around us so they could be in the right place at the right time.  This happened to me again at another event, by another person.  It made me reflect on whether or not I have ever done that or seen others do so.  And, I guess we all have at some point.  When we go out of our way, when in a crowd, to see someone we know, because they are near someone we want to meet, we are doing the same thing. Here is the learning: It is obvious even though we think it isn't. And, it looks prideful and egocentric.  We might call if "networking", but be sure and consider all the perceptions before you next look for "Random Access".

The things of the world can be such great reminders of how God acts just the opposite.  Look no further than when Jesus used His parables to remind us that the least will be first, and the first last.  God doesn't want us to be looking for "Random Access" with Him.  He gives us each a place, and that place is to be as close to Him as we can.  We get there through our love for Him, our devotion to Him and our seeking a deeper and deeper relationship.  There is nothing "random" about our access to Jesus.

Reference: Matthew 20:16 (New Living Translation)

day 1309: Feedback

"Examine yourselves to see if your faith is really genuine. Test yourselves. If you cannot tell that Jesus Christ is among you, it means you have failed the test."

You can read about debate around 360 degree feedback. Many feel it is the best development tool every created and the others say that it is so random in giving and receiving of the feedback that they feel it is almost dangerous to people. On both sides of the debate though is the agreement that everyone should have some sort of testing and feedback given to them on a regular and frequent basis. Companies have many ways of collecting feedback and providing that back to people. There are all kinds of tests that can be administered to see how someone is being perceived and then growing or not within that feedback. If you are a leader and have not done something like this before, I encourage you to do so. Having a mirror placed in front of you and then testing yourself is a good thing. Athletes do it all the time to measure and monitor their status and progress. It is awards seasons in the entertainment industry, which is their own 360 degree feedback process. There is no reason we in our jobs shouldn't be doing the same.

Even we as believers need to be constantly testing and monitoring where we are within our spiritual walk with God. Paul says this to the church in Corinth; "Examine yourselves to see if your faith is really genuine. Test yourselves. If you cannot tell that Jesus Christ is among you, it means you have failed the test." Maybe what we need more today than a work 360 is a good spiritual 360 test. All feedback methods start with a self-assessment. Right now we can start with asking ourselves how committed are we in deepening and strengthening our relationship with the Lord? If the answer is that we are deeply committed, then the actions have to back up the belief with our time in the Word, time in prayer and time in fellowship with other believers. If we want to work to our purpose we have to be prepared and spiritually fit, no different in how we work so hard to be prepared and fit for the work we do for our jobs. Maybe now would be a good time to do a little testing to see where you stack up against what you believe and what you are doing against those beliefs. You may not like the results but like a 360 degree feedback tool, you can't improve upon what you don't recognize and know.

Reference: 2 Corinthians 13:5 (New Living Translation) 

day 1306: Too Big For Their Britches?

"Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall." 

I'm not going to mention the name of the band, but here in LA for GRAMMY week, I was a part of an event where the band was signed to perform and along with the performance, they were committed to doing some media, pictures, and mingling with the donors who so generously underwrote the event for a great cause.  What happened at the 11th hour was the band decided they wouldn't do anything other than perform.  Even before the show went on, we had a sour taste in our mouths about them.  Before the show I ran into them in a hallway.  They all walked with their heads down, avoiding eye contact so to not be noticed (or that was their schtick).  When they performed, they were just as detached from the audience, never engaging or recognizing their fans who had bought tickets to be there. If you have any experience with music artists, or any type of performing artist, and yes, even high-profile business people, this is called the "too big for their britches syndrome".  On one hand, you might say, "Well why not?" And you go on, "These guys can't live normal lives as they are recognized and pawed on for autographs and photographs at every turn."  Here is why not.  As Julius Caesar said, "Fame is fleeting."  When fame turns to pride, artists and all of us lose our way.  When we think we are above the rest then we are already on our way to sliding down the other side.  This band, are here today, but they will more than likely not be gone tomorrow.  And, I will guarantee this, when they are in the later years of life and walking through an airport, they will love the person who walks up to them and says, "I was a fan of yours".  These guys missed the opportunity for life-long engagement last night.  Had they acted in the opposite, I would be writing a much different post this morning of an example of giving, gratitude and accessibility. 

As believers we can never get bigger than our britches because God gave so much for us that it should be impossible to have pride.  But, we do and do you know where it shows up the most?  In our work! Like the band members talked about above, they are just doing their jobs, but think they should be above it all.  We see it all the time and work brings out the worst in us.  Maybe it is because of the recognition, status, pay and rewards that work can provide, but whatever it is, we are susceptible and can become willing participants before we know it is happening. Consider today if there is anything in your workday where pride, ego, or recognition are the drivers of an action?  If influenced in any way to not take the phone call, return the email, walk down the hall and talk/meet outside or your office, go on that customer call, or just finish a conversation that needs to be completed, then today would be an awesome day to remove that pride and resize those britches. Those britches are not in God's style or in the wardrobe He has for us.

Reference: Proverbs 16:18 (New Living Translation)

day 1305: Hopscotch

"I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry."

One of my favorite bloggers, Seth Godin, had this to say recently about the pace of how we we now work:

"We skip reading the whole thing, because it's easier to jump to what we assume the writer meant.
We skip engaging with customers and stakeholders because it's quicker to assert we know what they want.
We skip doing the math, examining the footnotes, recreating the experiment, because it might not turn out the way we need it to.
We better hurry, because the firstest, loudest, angriest opinion might sway the crowd."

Guilty as charged?  Sure, we all are, and we need to know the same about our consumers, customers and employees.  Internally, we spend time and energy on things that demand deep-thinking and reading the fine print for success to happen and then we are frustrated when our people say, "I didn't know".  This is not going to get better. With a 140 character, Snapchat, Instagram world, we are only experiencing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to attention-span deficit and hopscotching through work and life.  What to do?  We must adapt without losing the ability to place emphasis where attention must be held.  It can be done and those who master this will win the day.  Consider the power of visuals, sounds and stories that make one think and ask follow up questions.  If you have read this far...the answer lies somewhere there.

Our God is not a hopscotch God, thankfully.  He doesn't cut a corner or abbreviate His love and patience for us, but He also in return doesn't let us off the hook with how we go about developing a real and vibrant relationship with Him. There isn't a 140 character way to deepen a relationship.  Just like when we need to get real we put down the texts and we look up and into a face of someone who matters, the same can be said about our relationship with Christ. We need to get real for Him to be real.  God's Word, prayer, fellowship with other believers and time in church are the touchstones that we can't skip over.  If you are feeling like a few "things" have been skipped and hopped over that have left you unsettled at work or home, consider that it might be that you are skipping over the critical and most important and it is time to go back to the basics that will always provide comfort, peace and direction.

Reference: Psalm 40:1 (New Living Translation)

day 1304: SRO

"They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus."

This is GRAMMY week.  For me, in my final year as Chairman of The GRAMMY Foundation, I will be at a number of events this week where it will be standing room only, SRO.  I always marvel at the number of people who want to attend The GRAMMYs.  The demand is high.  Behind this interest is a love of music. Wouldn't it be great if we could get our customers and consumers to desire our business at the same level?  It's not impossible.  If we know the loves of our customers/consumers and what they desire and why, then we might be able to have them clamoring for us.  If you think it can't be done, ask Apple what it feels like to launch a new product. It can be done.

Are we willing to do whatever it takes to be in the front-row presence of Jesus.  When it was SRO there were four men who so wanted to have Jesus heal their paralyzed friend, that they climbed onto the roof to cut a hole to lower their friend before Him. The gift that God gave us through Jesus is that we can have full access to Him at any time, all the time.  It is only up to to us.  Are we willing to do what it takes, like the four men were willing? As we work this week, let's be sure that we are staying up close and personal to Jesus.

Reference: Mark 2:4 (New Living Translation) 

day 1303: Whammy Squared

"In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing, so that no one can speak a word of blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people."

 A long time ago I wrote a post called "Stop The Complaining!" (day 369). That post resonated with a number of people as they said to me that being a complainer at work is one of the easiest roles to slip into. I then wrote another post called, "The Last Word" (day 374) that talked about the arguers at work and how we should avoid arguing all together and not fall into the traps of people who like to pick a fight and suck us into email arguments, etc. After thinking about these two topics more it dawned on me that complaining and arguing are like the evil twins of the workplace. They are the double whammy's that some people have built their work persona around. We all know them and can't say that we love 'em. They are the first person to have the negative point of view and no matter what they will fine something to complain about. I once worked with a person who was always looking for why he was not included or involved so everyone would go out of their way to include him in meetings and conversations that he didn't really need to be included. After all of this effort one day he complained to the group that he was too busy being in meetings to get anything done. I thought the rest of the room was going to reach across the table and strangle him when he said that. And when he wasn't complaining he was arguing. They go hand in hand as two tools that people use to build themselves up and tear down other people.

As believers and people who are committed to working God's purpose in our jobs, we cannot be one of those people. We must take the high road that God shows us and not fall into the trap of being a complainer or an arguer. Paul says it to us in Philippians 2:14-15 and he also tells us that those who are complainers and arguers are trying to pull us down; "In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing, so that no one can speak a word of blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people." He then goes on to say that if we can rise about the rest of the ways of the world that we should, "Let your lives shine brightly before them". You won't win any awards or get a lot or recognition from not falling into the trap of becoming a complainer or an arguer, but you can know that you will work without blame and that God's light can shine through you onto others. Those are two great positives to eradicate the double whammy's of complaining and arguing.

Reference: Philippians 2:14-15 (New Living Translation)

day 1302: What Is The Understanding?

 "Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding."

To understand something, you have to work at it. Sure, sometimes it comes easy and we will understand immediately, but in other cases to really understand all that there is, we have to dig to comprehend the whole subject and most importantly, the downstream ramifications of what may or may not happen from what is in front of us. I am amazed with people who can grasp something quickly and then apply that new found understanding to what they have in front of them now and for the future. To really understand a topic, a problem, a challenge or an issue, I think it takes the ability to look at something like you are looking through a prism. What goes in as white light ends up on the wall as many different colors. This is why to understand fully we have to be willing to take the time, energy and effort to listen intently, not judge on face value and to be self-aware that our own filters don't impeded or taint what is really going on. It feels like that we get this opportunity all day long, every day at our jobs. I worked on a project right that required the filtering of lots of different people's points of view to get to the heart of the matter, or to get to true understanding of the issues and the challenge. A casual observation would certainly yield a different result than what comes from digging in and giving extra time and attention. We should always seek to find the true understanding in whatever we do as usually much more depends on it than appears, like people's feelings, fragile egos, ulterior motives, etc.

There is another reason to try and understand understanding. We read this in Proverbs; "Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding." Having true understanding answers many things for us and when we have answers we find a peace and within that peace can then flow joy. It's hard to be joyful at times of consternation or turmoil. Today, if you are staring down a problem or challenge then do the extra work necessary to gain full understanding. Once you are there, it can only be much, much better than it is now.

Reference: Proverbs 3:13 (New Living Translation)

day 1301: Allowances

 "Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love."

We make allowances for things at work, all day long, every day. Few projects are on time and perfect. No deal doesn’t have allowances made and compromises taken. Even new buildings have value engineering allowances taken so it doesn’t quite end up being the same as what the original design held for the facility. We are used to making allowances to get things done and have others see our point of view. We give, we take, we give, we take. It is the way of business. The same is true with our bosses and co-workers. In order to get our way, sometimes we have to make our own allowances to be sure that others side with us as we go forward. Allowances are an every day part of work. However, we all know people who make allowances with everything but when it comes to other people. These are the people who fail to see the human side of an instance, or they see it and refuse to acknowledge the weaknesses and fallibility of people. With them, one mistake and you can be marked. We all know these types of bosses and co-workers. I was doing a reference recently for an executive and I had to come clean and say that I felt the one real issue with this person was their inability to give others a break, or allow them to work to high but not perfect standards, standards that not even this executive could claim to meet. Yes, the executive wanted to hold others to a standard that they can’t even uphold. Somewhere in here is, “don’t do as I do, or say….do as I think you should do.” We all need to have someone give us some allowance in our work. None of us are so perfect that we aren’t going to stub our toe or slip up once in a while.

Paul tells us in Ephesians that by being people who can look past the current issues and focus on the good of people, etc.; that we can also still be successful; “"Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each others faults because of your love." You see, if we truly loved as Paul says we should, then it would not be hard to allow the faults of others. But because we love something else more; ourselves, our career, the money that comes from the job, the power, etc. we don’t allow ourselves to accept the weaknesses in others. Today, think about who others think you are. Are you one who is known by others for the allowances you will take, or the hard-liner who is just waiting for the first slip up? We know that God has high standards when it comes to work and excellence at what we do, but He is not a God who doesn’t at least give us an allowance a day. He is the God who wants you to turn over yourself to Him so that he can assure that the right allowances are given and taken.

Reference: Ephesians 4:2 (New Living Translation)

day 1300: Economic Inequality

This Purposed worKING is a little different in structure and format than others.

In the coming days we each are going to be faced with a message on economic inequality. All signs are that this will be the prevailing theme in our nation's capital for 2014 and much will be placed under its umbrella.  We will each be challenged to personally respond and whether publicly or privately, have a point of view. Many will have already made up their mind and will only react negatively to anyone or anything that challenges their point of view.  Others will be thinking deeply about this for the first time and for all, we will be filtering the news and message through our own current lens and filter of belief and experience.  And, this challenge will show up in our workplaces as the policies of employers get considered as part of the economic actions that can happen. Some of us may even be in the position of making the decisions on policies that affect those in our workplaces.

As believers, there is only one road we can travel, and that is the road of our higher authority.  The world we live in is complicated and filled with irony and paradox. Yet, if we stay grounded in His Word and Spirit we can stay above the fray. God promises us a time and a world that is beautiful and peaceful. I hope this set of scriptures from Isaiah will speak to you as it has to me as I consider the promise that is always there for us when we trust and lean on our Father.

"Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days.

The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses. 

Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers
    and singing and joy!

The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon,
    as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon.

There the Lord will display his glory, the splendor of our God. 
  
With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,
    and encourage those who have weak knees. 

Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear,
for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.”

And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind
    and unplug the ears of the deaf.

The lame will leap like a deer,
    and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!

Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. 

The parched ground will become a pool,and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land.

Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.

  

 And a great road will go through that once deserted land.
    It will be named the Highway of Holiness.

Evil-minded people will never travel on it.
    It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways;
    fools will never walk there.

Lions will not lurk along its course,
    nor any other ferocious beasts.

There will be no other dangers. Only the redeemed will walk on it. 

 Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
    They will enter Jerusalem singing,
    crowned with everlasting joy.

Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
    and they will be filled with joy and gladness."

Reference: Isaiah 35: 1-10 (New Living Translation)

day 1299: Hanging Onto The Past

"This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people."

We never know what from the past will show up in the present.  And when it does, all bets are off as to the reaction.  Sometimes this will be astonishment, amazement and wonder.  Other times the past will dredge up memories that still sting and hurt and cause even greater resentment.  And the past can also be a ho-hum as we have moved forward so far that we can't truly recognize and appreciate what it must have been like back then.  On December 31st this story was published about the discovery of  a blue color referenced in the Old Testament.  You can read about this blue dye here.  Why does this matter to our businesses?  In business we many forget the past and once a few people have have moved on, we have no recollection of shared learning of what we had already discovered in the past that could be relevant today.  We don't keep "archives" like a museum or repository.  But, that doesn't mean we should ignore our pasts.  Our pasts can be rich with knowledge and treasures, that if we pay attention towards, might well open up the insights we need for the future.

Many times in our spiritual lives we are taught to put the past behind us and move forward.  That is correct when our past is what holds us back spiritually.  But, our past can also be very valuable to others if we are just willing to share it openly.  We each have cataloged a set of experiences that if we were to keep in context of our present and future would be lessons for those around us.  These lessons can come from both our success and our failure.  When we open up with others about our past there is a humanity that comes through that gives us the opportunity to share what really drives us forward.  God's message is one that is rooted in the past, given to us in the present, and full of a future of promise.  Why wouldn't we want to share all that He has done for us?

Reference: Colossians 1:26 (New Living Translation)

day 1298: No Catches...No Ties..Nothing Hidden

"For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."

There is a great AT&T commercial running, called, "Supervisor"  . It's filled with so much of how we think.  First, we are cynical and disbelieving of any offers (maybe rightfully earned).  Secondly, we distrust that we are receiving the right level of authority and attention from service people. Thirdly, we think that we have "won" when we escalate the problem to someone higher in the authority chain.  What the ad is saying back to us, or is at least trying to do so, is that all three of our assumptions are false.  But, will we change?  Not likely, so we might as well accept that our consumers and customers all think this way.  The only thing that gets over the fears of ties and catches are trust, authenticity and transparency. Might in the AT&T advertisement the service been better had Lily identified herself as the Supervisor from the beginning? Something for us all to think about!

There are no ties, no catches and nothing hidden in how and who can enter God's Kingdom. And, even more powerful for each of us, is that our way to Him comes directly from God Himself through Jesus.  When we offer ourselves and how we work and live as the example of Jesus to others, we must always assure to others that God's love is open to all without anything hidden that can't be found in God's Word. If we are transparent and authentic in who we accept within our workplaces then we are modeling out the commandment of how we are to behave to our neighbors and coworkers.

Reference: Luke 11:10 (New Living Translation)

day 1297: Emotion, Choice and Distraction

"But Jesus told him, 'Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.'”
  
All good sales people know that they must know and recognize, and then be able to respond to, the answers they receive that are the beginning of a deal slipping away from them.  But the rest of us try and close deals everyday with our teams, partners, investors, employees and yes, even with our bosses without the same experience or skills.  Here are three responses to watch out for: 

• The "Emotion" - "I just don't know how I feel about this...."  
• The "Choice" - "I have some alternatives that I need to review first..."  
• The "Distraction" - "Right now, I just have too much going on to pay attention to this...  

 How we anticipate and ready for these common responses can make the difference between being able to close the deal, or not.   

As Jesus reached out for disciples to follow Him, He heard in response many reasons why not.  These responses were filled with emotion, choices and distractions as reasons to not follow Jesus. We do the same.  We let our emotions, choices and distractions get in the way daily of our walk with Christ.  Work in itself is filled with each of these.  We don't feel like we can make the hard choices and when we get to that point there are business trips, meetings, a crisis that needs us now.  Within a moment, we have lost our path.  Jesus' love is unwavering.  His gift for us comes without ties or catches and the only person who can close the deal, is ourselves.  Are we ready to put aside the emotions, the choices and the distractions and put our focus on Him?

Reference: Luke 9:62 (New Living Translation)

day 1296: But First Let Me...

"But Jesus told him, 'Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.'”

How many times have we heard, "I'll get to that, but first let me..."?  How often do we actually think this way and after we have had gone through all of the "first let me" options, we find that we haven't gotten anything important done.  "First let me" is a dangerous thing and can cause disastrous hesitations.  How do we keep from these moments happening from us?  Steven Covey wrote a great book. "First Things, First".  By having our priorities defined and held firm, we can remove the "First let me" syndrome.  Think about how many times you have let something else get in the way and distract the important from getting done.  If you can think of one example, that's one too many.

Jesus called on individuals to follow Him and he heard more than once, "But First Let Me", and therein lies the issue.  This year, today, we will be challenged to put Christ first and it won't be surprising to anyone that we will say to ourselves, "But First Let Me". Here is the good news, God keeps coming back to us and inviting us to follow Him and walk with Him daily.  Can today be the day that we don't have any other firsts in front of Him?

Reference: Luke 9:62 (New Living Translation) 

day 1295: Crossing the Generations

"But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands."

A favorite opinion writer of mine is David Brooks.  I am fascinated with those like Brooks who can cover a far-ranging set of topics.  Brooks is a also a sociologist and brings interesting insights into communities, behaviors, norms, etc. A while back he wrote a column in the New York Times on how we change throughout the decades of our lives.  He placed these descriptors on each:

In our 20's - superman (person), possibilities, feverish energy, joiner, brave, entrepreneurial, unsympathetic to others

In our 30's and 40's - political scientist, lower estimations of own power and greater estimation of the power of institutions where you participate, faith in your navigation skills, adaptation, responsive to the "market" around you

In our 50's and 60's- sociologist, understanding of the power of relationships over individuals, managing and coaching, ambition fades and is transferred to the appreciation of ambitions of others, reflective and sentimental

In our 70's and 80's - historian, favoring tradition, appreciation of luck/fate, recognize the power of the dead over the power of the living

See yourself in this set of descriptions?  See your customers/consumers anywhere in here?

This is a path we will all walk, the question is what we will be like when we get there and what we will do to make the most of the understanding of what it means to successfully cross the generations.

As we start this New Year (my Pastor likes to say that the whole month of January is the start), we need to consider how we are aging and maturing in chronological, emotional and spiritual levels.  We may already have our 2014 goals set, but like anything else, success comes from looking and relooking at where we are and where we are trying to go.  If our spiritual growth is not at the top of our 2014 priorities, then we should recalibrate now and ensure that we have our priorities correct.  How we cross the generations is important and how we think about the future starts today.

Reference: Exodus 20:6 (New Living Translation)

day 1294: Back To The Ordinary (Annual Post)

 "...they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee"

January can be one of the most exciting months of the year because of the feeling of a new start that comes with a new year. But for most, January is the month of deprivation. This is the month that we resolve to do more with less, lose a few pounds with less intake and more output, be more diligent with exercise schedules, balance out work and life better, etc. You know the list. At work it is the beginning of a quarter or a fiscal year and even before the year is really started we are already setting down and planning and adjusting to be sure that we can hit the targets that we have set for ourselves. With a swirling external economic climate, we may already be cutting back to make sure that we have breathing room in the coming months and year. So, after all the Christmas build up and holiday enthusiasm, January can feel like a real let down and a hard time for many.

As I reflected on the January doldrums I was reminded of how Joseph and Mary must have felt after their first Christmas. What a heady experience to have given birth to a new son, to have experienced the coming of the angel and the visitors being drawn to the stable to see and worship the baby Jesus, and to have gone to the Temple and had Simeon and Anna prophecy over their child. And then, it was over. The angel was gone, the shepherds and visitors had gone their own way and it was time to go home. Mary and Joseph left the temple and the Bible says in Luke 2:39; "...they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee". For Mary it was now to work to raise a child and for Joseph it was back to his carpentry and making a living for his family and now with one new mouth to feed. It was back to the ordinary for both of them. It was a January and a new year, a year to go back to work and do what was needed to make their own ends meet.

Our life and work life of purpose is not to always be filled with highs. It would be great if it was that way, but we all know that it just doesn't work out that way. Our lives are filled with the ordinary and the routine. And, even in the ordinary and the routine we are to seek and work to live to the high standards we have been given as followers of Jesus. As we each start this work year, let us take all of the lessons given to us and do our best to apply them each and every day, knowing that like Joseph and Mary, that returning back to Nazareth was one ordinary step on what was to become a miraculous life journey. They didn't know it then, as we don't know today, but what can come from the ordinary, lived and pursued with righteousness, can be nothing short of extraordinary.

Reference: Luke 2:39 (New Living Testament)