Laurie Beth Jones Blog

Thoughts for Christmas 2010

Yesterday as my car idled, waiting for the yellow vested traffic controller to wave me into my appropriate line at the shopping mall, I marveled at the influx of vehicles transporting eager shoppers. “Surely,” I said to myself, “this has to bode well for the coffers of California.” I say things like this to myself when I am trying to keep my Wind/Fire personality from presenting itself in unattractive, impatient ways. It also helps calm me down….like studying the boots of women in line at the Cheesecake Factory, marveling at the variety of leathers and linings, heel sizes and trim. My discipline for this Christmas season is staying in the moment, rather than trying to leap ahead of people in line, or calendar events to get somewhere else.

My newly hired personal trainer is working on many tiny disciplines with me.
For example, she says I am always leaning forward in my exercises, rather than balancing myself on my heels. She discovered when I do side lunges that I easily place my foot at a perfect parallel to my body on the right side, but on the left side, my “heart” side, I place it defensively slightly behind me, as if ready to receive a blow. This led to a great discussion about balancing my energy flow over all, rather than just constantly looking for fast results. Would I have better balance if I could equally present my heart, as well as my mind, in the work out room of life?

This week on my blogtalk radio show I had as my guest Shannon Leith, a delightful photographer who specializes in finding the sacred moment in the now, always seeking the source of light before focusing her camera lens. She has an exhibition in a gallery now of her dishes. Just that. Dishes getting ready to be washed. Dishes in the sink. Dishes stacked for drying. How simple and mundane a subject. And yet her eye, and her camera, suddenly take you into a world of light and form, curves and angles, colors and placement of form. Shannon has found the sacred moment in just doing her dishes.

As I sit now, writing this, I know I need to remember that art form. I need to look again at the descending symmetry of the Noble pine tree—each branch in perfect proportion to the one above and below it. I need to study again the memories surrounding each ornament, and the love of the people who gave them to me. I need to look again at the golden star at the very top, signifying the birth of a baby who lived each moment in the sacred now, perfectly balanced on his heels, never leaning too far forward, or too far in the past.

I think that is the power of the Christmas message. That God chose to lead with the life of a child, entrusting that baby to us.
How shall you and I care for that Child now?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holy-Days,
Laurie Beth

Abundance in Community

Yesterday we had a Path Community Call, with people from around the country connecting for one precious hour around the topic of Abundance in Community.

The theme was what does abundance look like for you? Each person went around and defined either what they had an abundance of, or how they defined abundance.

Some had an abudance of love or integrity. One person had an abundance of imagination to share. Yet another shared abundance meant freedom. One gentleman said abundance was ‘joy in the vertical relationship with God in Christ.’

There was much laughter as we shared our unique Elemental Personality blends, and how we experience or define abundance. Fires said they often felt “it was never enough,” as fires constantly seek fuel sources. Winds likewise said “it” was always over there, the next hill, the next job, the next whatever. Waters defined abundance as listening to the rest of us, and Earths defined abundance as doing the next thing structurally, whatever that looks like.

I asked people what kept them coming back to the Path community, even after they had gotten their own mission and vision. The answers were similar in theme: “We love what we now understand, and we want to share it with others.” Several people said that getting their mission, and using that as a decision filter, had allowed them more clarity in daily decision making, and feeling in the center of the will of God.

I also shared that there would be many “losers” today, having fought a good campaign fight, and yet still fallen short of their goal. We prayed for the “losers,” who decided to stand up and fight for their beliefs, even knowing that the odds were against them. I said “maybe that is the true abundance after all—engaging in the discussions—throwing your time, energy and talents into a path that will make a difference, no matter what the results might look like in the end.

We discussed how sweet it was to be in the middle of the Lord’s pleasure, as well as His Will, and that maybe the two were more inseperable than some religious teachings allow.

It was a great call, and I was moved and inspired by the intelligence, compassion, clarity, and insight of this Path Community. We call ourselves “Pathletes,” and we invite you to ‘connect and engage’ with the Path Community each week. Here are the November topics. Path Trainers, Path Coaches and Path Members will be present to share with you on the call. I will be sharing on the Nov 23 call on the topic of the Elements and Christian Leaders. I look forward to connecting with you.

‘Changing the World One Mission at a Time.’

NOVEMBER COMMUNITY TOPICS

November Topic: Elements and Relationships
Nov 9 The Elements in Family Dynamics
Nov 16 The Elements in Business Relationships
Nov 23 The Elements and Christian Leadership
Nov 30 The Elements in Children

Dear Friends,

Do you ever take time to lay on the ground and look up at the trees? My mother used to do that with us kids—spread out a picnic blanket and have us all just look up through the branches. “This is one way to see God,” she used to say, as we would lie there in awe.

This is a tree in my backyard. I built a deck around it, remodeled a house in front of it, and only recently laid down to look up through the branches.

Such beauty in your own backyard. Leaders need look no further if they want to see God’s work from another perspective. Have you reclined lately and looked up? What did you see? What are you missing?

On the Path with You
as you Lead this week.
Laurie Beth

Change the World through personal mission.
Laurie Beth Jones

We are excited today to share our new website with each of you. Over the past several months we have been listening to our customers, licensed members, and visitors to the site about what they are looking for when they visit my website. So we designed it to be fun, user friendly, packed full of information, and easy to navigate. When you get a minute in your day this week feel free to stop by the site www.lauriebethjones.com. We have made several changes and added new ways to fully engage along this journey. Feel free to share the site link with others who you feel may be looking for community. It is my hope that you will connect, engage and extend your mission in this path community too.

In many ways a website is a photograph of a moving river whose scenery is always growing and expanding, and this is certainly true in our case. The Ezekiel 47 imagery is of a stream that begins beneath the altar and turns into a river making its way to the sea, lined with trees growing fruit for food and leaves for healing. This has come about with huge amounts of effort from my team, the Path licensed trainers, and the A Group Design team. I am grateful for their work, vision and capacity to serve and lead.

Come join in. CONNECT, ENGAGE AND EXTEND your mission as we explore together what it means to FIND, LIVE and ADVANCE mission in the world around us.

Peoples lives are changed not by what they know, but by powerful questions that serve as a beacon, a road sign, and a reminder of new and better ways to walk their path.

We need what you bring to this stream, because that is how it turns into a river–of blessing, joy, and healing.
Almost forgot! Feel free to add your name to the Path Mission Wall as your statement to live out your mission and impact lives one mission at a time.

On the Path with You to Change the World,
Laurie Beth