Have You Earned The Pickle?

I have been speaking about "giving a pickle" on various sites. This came about from a friend who brought a video we watched regarding good customer service. "Give Them A Pickle" is a famous story of Bob Ferrell and his awesome ice cream parlours.

The story is told of a family who took their child to one of the Ferrell Parlours and wanted pickles for their hamburger. The guest had several people in attendance for a special birthday, and felt that the waiter should have just brought a small dish of pickles to the table. Instead, the waiter gave a hard time and told the guest that it would cost him extra; Ferrell's doesn't give them for free. Well, Mr. Ferrell had a mad customer and a good response.

"Give them a pickle, they're our guest." Why this story today?

When we think of customer service, most often it is the waiter/waitress, counter clerks at various offices and payment tellers. Right? Using the above example of Ferrell's and the giving of the pickle, it got me thinking about other kinds of "customer" service. What about our day-to-day encounters with others?

Moms and dads give service to the family, especially younger kids; employee/employer relationships, and what about the bus drivers whom we see every day and take for granted. For all of you who have served each other with kindness and sensitivity--you're earned the pickle.

If you want to have a great leadership meeting with church, organizational or whatever staff, get the video--it's really good!

Thanks Ferrell's my kids still talk about the fun birthday parties we had at your ice cream parlours! Good service to each other makes for a lifetime of wonderful memories. Challenge each person in your circle of influence today--earn a pickle!

For more information:
http://www.farrellsusa.com/Default.aspx
http://www.happyitis.biz/

The Ultimate Holiday Party Plan

Grab your little black dress, reindeer tie and hostess gifts folks, it's Christmas party time!

I couldn't find any statistics on how many people actually attend – or even host – holiday parties, but feel like anecdotal evidence supports my belief that nearly everyone does either one or the other. Me? I tend to do both. My calendar is dotted with wine and cheese tastings and corporate bashes, Secret Santa lunches, private dinner parties, and family get-togethers for the next several weeks – and those are just the ones I'm invited to!

When it comes to hosting parties over the holidays, things can get a little sticky. After all, if I'm invited to Mary's shindig, I have to invite her to mine. If Wilsons serve a three-course meal, then I'm pretty much obligated to serve a four-course meal. And if Barbara and Phil invite a dozen, my guest list has to grow accordingly, too, right?

Wrong!

There's a better party plan out there. In fact, it's not just better it's amazing and a sure fire way to change your idea of holiday cheer!

Curious? Here it is:

The next party you throw, ditch the status quo and do something fresh, bold and biblical. Instead of inviting the same old same old, look outside your social circle for people you might not know – maybe the lady at the bakery who smiles shyly at you every morning, or the bus driver, the grocery clerk or the young kid at the dry cleaners.

Rather than just returning the favor by inviting Mary to your shindig, invite someone who never gets invited, like the homeless man you see from the window of your car every night, or the single parent down the street or the frail-looking elderly woman who lives across the hall from your mom at the nursing home.

And instead of stressing over whether to serve trendy tapas or more traditional appetizers, whether to go with the lamb or the pork, put your energy and passion into serving others and feeding their souls, not just their stomachs.

The party will be a smash – probably so great you'll want to start doing it on a regular basis! And the rewards…well the rewards come with a lifetime guarantee. Not from me, from God.
Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."(Luke 14:12-14 NIV)

It's almost become a cliché, but in giving we truly are able to bring back the "reason for the season". And in sharing the love of Christ in us, we are sincerely sharing the light of the world to people in darkness.

Merry Christmas and God bless you in 2009!

Ava Semerau

Thanks Ava for a great reminder for all year! Ava is one of my Twitter friends, and a delight to read her every day tweets from someplace on the other side of the world (LOL) Merry Christmas my friend, and safe journey!

Ava Semerau is a Christian author, American expat and award-winning journalist. Her latest book is titled And God Was Pleased: Biblical Principles for Creating Christian Success. To learn more about Ava, the book and how to please God more, visit her Web site at http://www.avasemerau.com/.

Football for One?

What a day to be alive! Yes, today. Just think about what would not happen if your family or friends were not here, breathing and doing, and not doing? It isn't just the big things like corporate, major social events, or political. Consider this:

Who would you watch the football game with today? Would it you have the same fun experience without somebody to yell back and forth with over a touch down, or a missed catch?

• A quiet house or a crazy house full of noise. As parents we think of the day when the noise will quiet down, then it does and we miss the noise
• Without friends and family what would the holidays and events of your personal life be like? Would you still try to do some things out of tradition or say why bother?
• The irritation that living with other people brings, aren't they really minor in the total scheme of things
• Without friends and family you would be totally self absorbed and there really is only so much absorption one can handle

Family and friends is what was planned in the Garden of Eden--Sharing, caring, and encouraging each other to be the best, to try harder, and to be all that you can be.

Make a difference to those in your circle to today--they are their for your pleasure and enjoyment to encourage, to share, to care, and to cheer on your favorite team .. Have a fun day! It takes more than one.

The Year It Wasn't Just a Tree

Heavenly lace decorated the evergreens in front of the house. Fresh snow, the magic of winter, shrouded the dismal thoughts of our first Christmas alone. Just five short months ago, we had been a group of six angry, frustrated, and disappointed people, now we were five. With hardly a whimper, I had become a single mom with four kids, expected to carry on the family traditions of happy fun-filled Christmas activities and gifts. I looked at the splendor of God's hand on the world, and in the deepest of those personal heart spaces prayed that he would bury me as well.

Jolting me back to reality, four little hands waving wildly as they ran into the room proudly displaying their Christmas decorations made at daycare. The two youngest were excited to have something to contribute to the decorations and festivity of the season.

"Mommy, mommy, we can hang these on our tree." My third daughter then aged four was so expectant.

"Treeeeeeee" squealed my son, aged 3. I wondered how he could even know about a Christmas tree.

"Mom, you should see Mrs. Oliver's Christmas Tree. Its beautiful." The eldest daughter and caretaker of the brood in my absence, loves Christmas trees. She asked many years just for a tree, no presents, no special gifts. For her it was the splendor of the fragrance of pine, and the twinkling lights. She had always understood it was temporary, but rather temporary than not at all.

My second daughter knew that a tree was going to be a hard sell this year. The older two girls and I looked at each other trying to hold back the tears each of us felt. Somehow the Christmas tree was a focal point that brought us all a moment of peace; a hope and promise that everything would somehow be all right.

Money was tight, no child support, my salary barely covered the day-to-day. Even though abuse was not part of our daily life any longer, the memories were more than enough to keep us under a cloud.

My oldest daughter had slipped out of the room and went to the storage area, lugging in box after box of decorations, she and her sister started to decorate the mantel with the elves and stockings, garlands around the doorways. My role was to make the hot chocolate while the two younger kids danced in the middle of the living room. It was starting to look a lot like Christmas past.

Watching the love and appreciation for what they had, knowing that it was going to be totally different, we made the best of what we could do. As evening began to turn into a silent night a soft knock was heard at the front door. A neighbor who didn't say much and waved occasionally stood covered in snow with a smile as big as summer.

"My wife and I thought you might be able to use this."

Tears could no longer be contained, nor the sobbing of my heart. This man, sent by God to answer the prayers of a desperate mom, carried into our home a fragrant evergreen that became a Christmas miracle, not just a tree.

As the holiday season begins, will you take a moment and see where you can make a difference to somebody in your own special way? Its not the amount or size, its the love with which it is delivered.