NEGU - Never Ever Give Up!

This weekend, my husband and I were fortunate enough to be able to attend the NEGU (Never Ever Give Up) Gala, sponsored by the Jessie Rees Foundation.  Jessie Rees was a darling, beautiful twelve year old girl who lost her fight to a brain tumor a couple of years ago.  Erik and Stacey Rees, Jessie's parents have done phenomenal job of putting together this foundation so that children with cancer can be encouraged by Jessie's Joy Jars.

Joy Jars were something that Jessie created so that other kids would not feel alone, but they would feel loved by receiving a Joy Jar.  Over 85,000 Joy Jars have been distributed to hospitals throughout the world.  One of the main purposes of the Foundation is to provide encouragement to these children.

Over 400 people attended the Gala which was held at the Newport Marriott.  Attendees were encouraged to give $1000 for the year.  When this amount was broken down, it came out to less than $3 a day or one less Starbucks every day.

My favorite part of the evening, though, was when they held a live auction with a live auctioneer. There were numerous donations such as a trip to Bora Bora, beautiful jewelry, and dinner at Hanna's. The show stopper was when they auctioned an eleven week old chocolate lab puppy. The bidding reached $9,000!  But the best part was when the family who bid this amount announced they were GIVING the puppy to a family with a child who had cancer who was sitting on the opposite side of the ballroom.  I don't think there was a dry eye in the ballroom.

American Airlines was also just announced as a corporate sponsor for NEGU.  AA will fly these children who have cancer to whatever hospital they need to get to.  Amazing.  So, if your company is looking for something where your employees can volunteer in south Orange County, please contact the Jessie Rees Foundation.  They are currently looking for donations, as well as individuals who want to work in the "Joy Factory" and put together Joy Jars.

I love the power of one twelve year old little girl's life and how she continues to touch so many of us. Thank you, Jessie.  May we leave such a legacy with our own lives.

A Flying Trapeze and the Catcher

My husband and I recently finished a book called, With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God by Skye Jethani.  The author beautifully explains to the reader four different "incorrect" ways we often relate to God.  I thought I would share it with you, hoping that you might benefit as much as we have in Jethani's analysis of how we experience God.

Maybe you can relate to how we can sometimes live in a relationship UNDER God. (We get upset when we do things the "righteous" way and God doesn't perform the way we think He should).  This is like the movie, Bruce Almighty, where Bruce finally gives up and takes all of his aggression out on God because God is not coming through for him.

Or, we can choose to live OVER God. (We think that God basically started the universe in motion and now it's up to us to discover and use the life principles He established to be successful - without any additional relationship with Him necessary.)  Think of Thomas Jefferson and his "watchmaker" philosophy....God basically created the giant watch, wound it up and is letting it run.

Or, we can opt to live FROM God.  (We live in an age of massive consumerism and we expect that by following God we can get all our material desires met FROM God.)  We act like entitled children, thinking that He will meet our every desire, rather than our needs - kind of like a vending machine God.

Or, finally we live FOR God. (We feel like we are put on Earth to serve God's great cause - glorifying Him through our dedication of giving up everything FOR Him - and that we must sacrifice everything to be worthy of His favor. We become defeated because we can't measure up, or there is always a sin besetting us.)  This is exhausting and never fulfilling.

Instead, of the four incorrect ways listed above, Jethani argues that all God really desires is a relationship WITH us.   He uses the analogy that we are like the trapeze artist who lets go with the hope that someone will be there to catch him.  The trapeze artist does this with the hope that the other trapeze artist is competent and knows what he is doing.  The trapeze artist starts flying through the air in faith that someone will be there to catch him.  And, in the end, the trapeze artist is caught because of the love of the Catcher, God, who catches the flying artist.  The trapeze artist could not perform if he was not WITH the Catcher.  It's when he is caught that we burst into cheers because of the Catcher.

Remember when your toddler was learning to swim?  I remember being in the pool and trying to coax my kids when they were little to jump to me.  I would say, "It's ok, I will catch you.  You can trust me. I am right here for you.  I'm not going anywhere."   They would think about it, I would say it again and suddenly they would jump, and I would ALWAYS catch them.

Perhaps, you like me as an adult, quite often feel like you have let go, and you are desperately hoping He will be there to catch you.  He will.  It is His nature to be faithful, to be kind, to be loving...why? Because He loves you and me and wants to experience life together WITH you.  I've talked to people who have experienced great hardship, desperate situations regarding children, husbands, wives, jobs, finances.  When we go through these times our paradigm is radically different when we rest in the truth that He is WITH us and He will catch us.

During this season of Lent, we are reminded that He sent His only Son to die for us due to His great love.  He wants our very best and yet He asks that we live by FAITH, and not by sight.  He asks that we put our HOPE and TRUST in Him to catch us.  The rewards are great but we must let go of the trapeze bar in order to let Him catch us.

The next time you are in a valley or in a tough spot, will you let go and start to fly?  Will you trust in His love that He will catch you?  Try it, you won't be disappointed and you'll sense His great love for you in the arms of the Catcher.  None of us will know unless we try, right?

Every Life Has a Story...the Client or Customer Experience

I am fortunate to be a part of an AMAZING real estate team.  We get together and share information that helps us to better serve our clients.  This past week, we talked about the "experience" of a buyer of real estate or a seller of real estate who chooses to work with us.  We talked about the details from the very beginning of a transaction to the close of escrow, and the relationship after the sale has been completed.  Our goal is to create for the client an UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE....one that they will have fond memories of and want to share with their friends and family.

It made me think of the above video that I had seen, produced by Chick Fil'A.  This fast food restaurant has done a marvelous job of analyzing every detail that goes into the customer "experience".  It begins with the advertising that pulls you into the restaurant.  You will always receive a cheerful voice when you place your order into the speaker.  Why?  Because every detail adds up to your OVERALL EXPERIENCE and ultimately the feeling that you have when the experience is over.  And, every life has a story.  Chick Fil'A's employees are trained to see the value in every human life and to treat their customers with the respect each person deserves.

If you are like me, perhaps you have not always had a wonderful experience in prior customer service situations.  It amazes me when the first person who greets me makes me feel as if I am bothering him/her to do his/her job.  I feel sorry for them and I immediately think they are in the WRONG job.  But then I try to remember that every life has a story and this video comes to mind.

I went to pick up some additional business cards today.  The guy presented the cards to me as if there was nothing wrong.  As soon as I looked at them I noticed the color of my hair was almost completely orange.  I told him that I thought I looked orange.  He nonchalantly replied, "Yeah, I kind of thought so too."  HELLO.  Not a great experience.  Not a company I will recommend.  A company I am blogging about but not in a good way.  (He offered to reprint them for free...after the picture reminded me of the guy in Colorado with the orange hair.)  Not a good association for a real estate business!

Try to think back on your customer service experiences...remember those where you were treated unexpectedly in amazing ways.  It was such a pleasant surprise, wasn't it?  My friend, Cathy, and I were at the fabric store today.  The gal at the register kept searching and searching for Cathy's fabric because the California store was out of stock.  Sure enough, because of her tenacity and persistence, and great attitude, the fabric was located in Florida...for only $8.99 a yard.  Yay. Cathy is now going to buy the entire bolt of fabric.  It's a win-win for both the customer and the business.

Anyways, I encourage you to look at your experiences as a customer or client and to identify what the excellent companies are doing to make your experience unforgettable.  It is often quite Biblical.  "Love your neighbor as yourself...Do unto others as you would have them do unto you...Recognizing the value of human life, because every life has a story".   I would venture to guess that when you have an amazing customer experience, you are telling ten of your friends, because it is not the norm.  I'd love to hear from you about which companies you have found that have left you with an unforgettable experience!

I think APPLE is one of those companies creating an unforgettable experience.  I want my business to be like that, don't you?

Have a blessed weekend!