A Prayer for Labor Day

In the United States, we have so much for which to thank God. Even if your job is imperfect (and whose isn't?), be grateful for the work you have. Today is a great day to also pray for those who are unemployed or are seeking other employment. I found this prayer which resonated with me and perhaps will with you as well:

God our Creator,
We are the work of your hands.
Guide us in our work,
That we may do it, not for self alone,
But for the common good.
Make us alert to injustice,
Ready to stand in solidarity,
That there may be dignity for all
In labor and in labor's reward.
Grant this through Christ out Lord, amen.

-Book of Common Prayer

Note: if you enjoy reading The Daily Saint, why not join our mailing list? Just fill out the form on the homepage and you'll receive our free FaithWorker Study Guide. The Guide provides 15 simple ideas to help you bring Sunday into Monday.

How to Stay Motivated When it Feels Like Summer

Memorial Day weekend was a blast- small town Jersey at its finest. Parades, open houses, picnics and of course the opening of the infamous Stirling "Lake", which is hardly more than a pond.

It was muggy, bright and fun. And... now it's back to work. Mondays have a way of repeating themselves don't they? The temptation is to cling on to what minutes remain with each weekend night, dreading the call of meetings, demands and expectations. But hold on- the terrific rest of a weekend can only make sense with the productivity of any given week.

They almost need one another and that's why Memorial Day is the perfect time to think about your own motivation as it gets hotter and you feel like working less and less.

First, consider they WHY behind your WHAT. In other words, remember the reason why you have to get up early on Monday and report for duty. Is it a calling, a vocation, a cause? Why do what you do?

Second, consider the faces that you kiss goodbye. When I leave for work, I'm literally leaving behind my wife and four children. They depend on me and my labor. That makes the week more meaningful. If I didn't work hard, there would be no quality of life and probably no weekend to enjoy at all.

Third and finally, there might actually be some nice things ahead of you this week. God has a way of surprising us, especially when we least expect it.

This past weekend I was dreading having to work the Snack Shack at a Little League game here in town. My wife wasn't able to work so it was me and four women from town serving churros to ballgame spectators.

Or so I thought- when I showed up report for my time slot I was taken off the hook and was able to coach instead of serve churros. No joke- that was an act of Divine Intervention. God does that all of the time, seriously.

Sure it may be hot. You may have to serve bad fast food at your kid's baseball game. You may not feel like work on Monday but go at it anyway. Think of the faces that you kiss goodbye and the difference that you are making with your work.

Photo courtesy of AMDG.

The Leadership Balance Between Input and Output

I was listening to a recent Catalyst podcast interview between Brad Lomenick and Rick Warren.  Warren, an avid reader, once asked his board of supervisors for only one perk within his job description- an unlimited budget for books.  Since then, he's read thousands of books on every topic under the sun.

Leaders do that- as John Maxwell says, "Leaders are readers."  They know that you can't lead from where you haven't been.  Books help the leader to go deeper, think bigger and broaden their people's horizons.  My team probably makes fun of me but it's ok- I still give them a book for a gift at Christmas.  Even if no one reads the book, I'm practicing the principle of adding quality input to their lives.

This is what we call input: what you put into your mind and heart.  This comes from books, audio, movies, lectures, etc.

The other side of the coin is output.  What we produce and put out into the world.  I've gotten a lot out of journaling and have written about my own prayer life as a result.

A great experiment happened recently.  I read Bill Hybels' book, "Too Busy Not to Pray" almost two years ago.  Since then, I've been praying every day since and have blogged about it periodically.  Input and output.

The key for leaders is to keep your input and your output in balance.  There will be seasons when you are publishing more than you are reading and visa versa.  Just be attentive to both and your leadership will thrive.

Timeliness and Service

I spoke earlier this week at a Catholic church on the topic of the corporal works of mercy.  I've included the slideshare deck below.  I created the slides with Apple Keynote and then made some edits such that Slideshare could render the slides more easily.  If you find it helpful, let me know.

Works of mercy


 

 



Why Getting a New Job May Be a Bad Idea

After Church today I was having a nice conversation with a fellow Catholic school teacher and a lay leader in our parish. We spoke of school, ministry roles and whether or not we might ever leave Catholic education in order to make more money in the public school system.

This is the kind of conversation that teachers in faith-based schools have every few years. The financial advantages of public school are well known. The spiritual advantages to faith-based (or even mission-based as in many charter schools) institutions are more subtle, like an acquired taste in terms of professions.

As for me leaving the Catholic school system?  No thanks.

It's not that I don't respect public schools- I am a product of one. It's deeper than that. I think that I simply realize how fortunate I am at this moment in time. Take away a few of the people around me and I'm pretty, well, ordinary. The core around me makes me look good most of the time and I cherish their gifts and incredible talent.  I couldn't do what I do without them doing what they do so very well.

Malcolm Gladwell has written often this phenomenon, calling it  the power of context. Take away the people around us at a given point in time and our gifts don't seem quite as portable. Try to imagine Steve Jobs without Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. The latter you may not know but Jobs has become an everyday icon. The fact is, they happened to be in the same place at the same time with the same interests. The rest is history.

Success is like that- personal gifts intermingled with the mysterious, irreplaceable talents of those around us. Take away others' gifts and your own ability may seem somewhat plain.

All of this just might translate into your next job being less successful than your current situation.  We think that because we are doing well now that our success will translate in the next job but not so fast. At the end of the day, much of our victory depends on those with whom we lock arms in the daily battle to create schools that matter, homes that are filled with love and communities that care.

Rather than be bummed out by this, turn the realization into moments of gratitude that you can demonstrate to your peers every day.  You can tell someone you appreciate their hard work or drop someone a Thank You note.

The opportunities are right there so what are you waiting for?