Lightbulbs

Imagine if every business were a lightbulb and that for each lightbulb the primary goal was to attract the most moths possible. Now what if you learned that 49 percent of th reason moths were attracted to a bulb was for the quality of its light (brightness being the task of the bulb) and that 51 percent of the attraction was to the warmth projected by the bulb (heat being connected with the feeling of the bulb). It's remarkable to me how many businesses shine brightly when it comes to acing the tasks but emanate all the warmth of a cool fluorescent light. That explains how a flawless four-star restaurant can actually attract far fewer loyal fans than a two- or three-star place with soul. In business, i want to be overcome with moths. Our staff must be like a scintillating string of one-hundred-watt lightbulbs, whose product is the sum of 51 percent feeling and 49 percent task. ~ Setting the Table, page. 141

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River

Rivers of blessing flow through our lives from our never ending Source! We are not be act as the source, for we are not. We are not to impede the flow for a river is to be a river not a lake.

Oswald Chambers says,

A river touches places of which its source knows nothing, and Jesus says if we have received of His fullness, however small the visible measure of our lives, out of us will flow the rivers that will bless to the uttermost parts of the earth. We have nothing to do with the outflow...God rarely allows a soul to see how great a blessing he is...A river is victoriously persistent, it overcomes all barriers...a river will drop out of sight for miles, and presently emerge again broader and grander than ever.

We truly are channels only of His blessing. May we open wide our hearts today to be people of blessing, focused on the Source of every good thing.

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The Difference Maker: Making Your Attitude Your Greatest Asset

John C. Maxwell

John Maxwell, in his book The Difference Maker, has written that decision making is overrated while decision management is underrated. His point is that making a decision is just a start. The real work is how one manages the decision. Another way to put it is that it is the combination of decision and discipline that makes a difference.

Enriching a culture of gracious hospitality and service starts with a decision but is brought into being through discipline and management. This enrichment will not come easily, naturally, automatically or quickly.

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Celebrate

Philippians 4 is probably my favorite chapter in the Bible. To read it in The Message enriches its truths in profound ways to me. Enjoy these excepts:

Stay on track, steady in God.

Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious--the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.

I do want you to experience the blessing that issues from generosity.

Don't you want to stop and ponder through each of these? All positive, except one. Against steadily staying on track, celebrating God, thinking wholesomely, experiencing generosity is "don't fret or worry". Worry gets us off track, kills our celebratory attitude, refocuses our thoughts and promotes what we don't have while blinding us to what we do have.

Joy is a choice that we make continually throughout each day. Choose joy today and put worry where it belongs - completely away.

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The Bible is so practical! Today, I read Romans 12 (The Message). Toward the end of the chapter are these words:

Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

...inventive in hospitality - I love that because our world is filled with people who are:

• burning out
• losing hopes and dreams
• quitting because times are too difficult
• needing help

To these real people comes the words, "...be inventive with hospitality."

Today, I received this email from Chuck Swindoll which says it beautifully! Read it thoughtfully and prayerfully and ask the Lord to show you how to be inventive with hospitality. The Hawaiian word Ho'okipa connects hospitality with generosity. Both require giving of one's self.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

US AND WE, NOT I AND ME

by Charles R. Swindoll

Chain

Nobody is a whole chain. Each one is a link. But take away one link and the chain is broken. Nobody is a whole team. Each one is a player. But take away one player and the game is forfeited. Nobody is a whole orchestra. Each one is a musician. But take away one musician and the symphony is incomplete.

We need each other. You need someone and someone needs you. Isolated islands, we’re not. To make this thing called life work, we gotta lean and support. And relate and respond. And give and take. And confess and forgive. And reach out and embrace. And release and rely.

Especially in the God family . . . where working together is Plan A for survival. And since we’re so different (thanks to the way God built us), love and acceptance are not optional luxuries. Neither is tolerance. Or understanding. Or patience. You know, all those things you need from others when your humanity crowds out your divinity.

In other words:

Love each other with brotherly affection and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy in your work but serve the Lord enthusiastically. Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and prayerful always. When God’s children are in need, you be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night. (Rom. 12:10-13, TLB)

Why? Because each one of us is worth it. Even when we don’t act like it or feel like it or deserve it.

Since none of us is a whole, independent, self-sufficient, supercapable, all-powerful hotshot, let’s quit acting like we are. Life’s lonely enough without our playing that silly role.

The game’s over. Let’s link up.

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent . . . " (John Donne).

Taken from Charles R. Swindoll, Day by Day with Charles Swindoll (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2000). Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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Aloha

Remember that Aloha is about your individual uniqueness and your authenticity because it is about the spirit of your ha, the breath of your life which captures your essence. Alo is your demeanor, and thus sharing Aloha is living from the inside out.

Beautiful thought isn’t it? That Aloha can be about your authentic self in values lived, and in the instinctual deep-seated thought which drives you to actions of "rightness and intellectual honesty with self."

When you manage with aloha, this is the gift you give to everyone else. Can you imagine the partnership you will achieve, when those you manage recognize this gift you so freely and sincerely give to them?

~ Rosa Say, Aloha and your Thought’s Fingerprints

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To the value of Aloha (unconditional love) add the value of Ho'ohana. The following is an excerpt from an article by Rosa Say:

Everything you need, you have within you. I happen to call it your aloha. Everything you need to do, you either choose to, or not. I happen to call it your ho‘ohana.

• Make your life and your work personal.
• Make your life and your work personally real.
• Make your life and your work really authentic.

So, Aloha is how you are equipped; Ho'ohana is what you do with the equipment you have. The process of lifelong learning is connected with both values. You should be learning who you really are AND learning how to use your talents and gifts. This is an exciting adventure!

May I offer a caution, though? Be who you are right now. You are not who you were and you are not yet who you will become. There are dangers when you are not present. For example, trying to live beyond your present ability leads to a loss of peace and contentment. This loss will affect your ability to be personal, personally real and really authentic. On the positive side, celebrate who you are and who you are becoming! Let Aloha flow through your Ho'ohana!

Again, from Rosa:

Aloha, the celebration of who we are. Everything we will learn this year, everything we will accomplish, every sweet victory and satisfying job well done, will start and end with us, the people of feisty, bountiful spirit that we are.

All the kindness and love we share, all the unconditional acceptance, understanding, and forgiveness we give, will come from our Aloha.

Our ALO - our demeanor and presence shared with those we are with

Our HA - the very breath of our life, and our spirit

Our ALOHA - the authentic, transparent, vulnerable, real us

"Aloha is pretty simple; to have aloha is keeping it real."

—The definition of Aloha shared with Rosa by a very wise 17-year old gentleman at Kamehameha School’s Kea‘au campus on the Big Island of Hawai‘i

Aloha means welcome; what i have you may have, share with me. Aloha means unconditional love; near or far, you are always in my heart. It is being present - all there! It is the outpouring and receiving of a person’s true self that is inclusive, seeking to serve. Aloha is life itself, not just a greeting. It is the core value to all of life.

Keiki

Keiki Wisdom (from Chicken Soup for the Hawaiian Soul)

One day if you swallow a rainbow then you let some drip out of your mouth when you smile, that’s what aloha is. ~ Hana, 6

Aloha is like when a puppy licks your face, only it’s not so sticky. ~ Olan, 5

Aloha is when you have to say good-bye, but you want to leave a piece of you behind because now you have to go home. ~ Sera, 7

Aloha makes us all the same. ~ Rafelyn, 6

Aloha means we’re friends forever – especially if you’re invisible. ~ Shai, 6

Aloha is what dolphins whisper to each other and to you when they pass you under the ocean. ~ Nikko, 6

It should be a flavor of ice cream because it’s that good. ~ Ivoreen, 5

Aloha is all the good feelings like love and missing someone, but it isn’t so mushy. ~ Nick, 6

Aloha is when there is a room with a million strangers and then they say "aloha" and then they are not strangers anymore. ~ Makana, 7

Aloha means I remember you even though I haven’t met you before. ~ Tautalaasa, 7

Aloha is one of the words that means everything good, which is good because everything would need a lot of words, otherwise. ~ Devin, 7

Aloha means you treat everybody nice even if you don’t like the way they smell. ~ Tufaga, 5

Aloha is the way we live. ~ Miss Na’a

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HanaRoadN

Creating a culture of true generosity and hospitality does not happen easily, naturally, automatically or quickly. It's a journey we must walk - no short cuts.

Ho'okipa is the sixth of nineteen values. To focus on one value without all that precedes will not bring all the desired results. Therefore, we must take five steps before we meet Ho'okipa.

1. Aloha - unconditional love

2. Ho'ohana - passionate work with the intent to bring meaning

3. 'Imi ola - seek to be the best you can be

4. Ho'omau - perseverance and persistence to make that which is good to last

5. Kulia i ka nu‘u - the value of achievement. The literal translation for Kulia i ka nu‘u is "strive to reach the summit."

Each of these initial values prepares the way for true generosity and hospitality. During the next few posts, we'll look at each and how one blends and supports the next. Are you ready for this journey of "road to Hana" twists and turns? Ready or not, let's begin!

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Hospitality is to be a team sport - where we all get to play the entire game!

Service is the technical delivery of a product. Hospitality is how the delivery of a product makes its recipient feel. Service is monologue - we decide how we want to do things an set our own standards for service. Hospitality, on the other hand, is a dialogue. To be on a guest's side requires listening to that person with every sense, and following up with a thoughtful, gracious, appropriate response. It takes both great service and great hospitality to rise to the top!

~ Setting the Table

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Ho'okipa initiates when it is absent or withheld; and it reciprocates when received. What a blessing for a person who desperately needs gracious hospitality and generosity to find it in us. True Ho'okipa does not wait for it to be given, thus making it solely reciprocal. It seeks ways to initiate itself against all that is withdrawn and protective.

Of the giving the heart, C. S. Lewis writes:

Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.

Sincerely showing hospitality and generosity is to be vulnerable, too, but that is what Ho'okipa means.

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