We had a great weekend and are gearing up for a week full of lifegiving investments. That means lots of meetings and caregiving for members of LifeChurch, counseling sessions and mentoring opportunities. It's so fantastic to be a part of such an awesome thing that God is doing in so many lives. Our service today was a fantastic win in everyway. Joel shared about doing church the Chik -Fila way and how we should focus on being simple, sincere and excellent.

hmm, excellence. That is a challenging word isn't it?

Here is what the thesaurus tells us about excellence:

Entry Word: excellence

Function: noun: 1 exceptionally high quality

Synonyms :distinction, Excellency, greatness, preeminence, superbness, superiority, supremacy

Related Words: faultlessness, flawlessness, impeccability, perfection; goodness, value, worth; consequence, importance, notability

Near Antonyms: averageness, badness, inferiority, mediocrity, ordinariness, worthlessness

2 a quality that gives something special worth

Synonyms: distinction, Excellency, merit, value, virtue :advantage, edge, superiority

Near Antonyms: blemish, defect, failing, fault, flaw Antonyms: deficiency

That is a whole lot to be thinking about- being a person of exceptionally high quality! There is a verse in the Bible that really hones in on this virtue in a simple way:

Ecclesiastes 9:10 (New International Version)

10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, [a] where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

Simply said, God wants us to strive to be our best and enjoy the work He has given us here to do. Whether or not it's paying bills, cleaning, changing diapers, going to get groceries we should put forth our best effort. I'll post a few tips for making the daily grind easier for you so you can find those areas of excellency and shine with your gifts! Remember this is your time to shine for Jesus. You can reflect His face in the simple things you do each day, and it will make the world around you sit up and take notice. Just giving a smile to that tired clerk at Walmart instead of a gruff "I'm fine" can make someone's day. Be friendly-you never know what someone around you might be going through.

You don't want to miss our next chick night, February 12th (Sunday) at 5 pm. We'll be learning about Charm and Grace. A lesson in etiquette and also how to be a lady that brings a smile to God's face. Have a great week, and shoot a link out to a friend. I'll be posting some of my most "excellent" recipes this week! Oh, and the ballerina-that speaks of Charm and Grace to me in a vivid way!