In Culture

As we celebrate this Christmas season, I thought I would share with you another of my favorite recipes for making and giving this year.

Glazed Lemon Drop Cookies
Drop Cookies
    * 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
    * 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt
    * 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
    * 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
    * 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
    * 1 cup granulated sugar
    * 1 large egg
    * 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Lemon Glaze
    * 2 cups confectioner's sugar
    * 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
    * 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest with a fork.
3. In a large bowl beat butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
4. Add egg, vanilla, and lemon juice and beat until combined.
5. With mixer on low beat in flour mixture.
6. Drop dough by heaping tablespoons, 1 inch apart, onto baking sheets.
7. Bake one baking sheet at a time in the center of the oven until edges are golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and let cool 2 minutes on sheets, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. When cool, spread lemon cookies with lemon glaze and let set, about 1 hour.

Lemon Glaze: In a medium bowl, stir together 2 cups confectioner's sugar, 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, and 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice until smooth and of a good spreading consistency. Add more lemon juice to thin the glaze and more sugar to thicken it.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and please share your favorites with us.  This recipe makes about 2 dozen Glazed Lemon Cookies.

Do you ever get so focused on finding that new guest that you overlook the discipline of retaining the guests you have?  It can happen to the best of us.

Here are some practical strategies that will help.

1.  Empower your employees - let them fix the small stuff.  Employees are typically the ones that your guests are dealing with on a day to day basis while they are at your property.  Sometimes a small issue can become big while an employee is looking for their manager to provide a solution.

2.  Listen and Act - take the time to hear what you long-term guest's are saying and let them know you were listening by acting on what you heard.  Guests will love seeing the results of their feedback and that will make them ambassadors for you.

3.  Solve problems and meet needs - if your dealing with guest group's inevitably your meeting planner will encounter problems. It will only strengthen your relationship if you are helping to solve those problems and meet those needs.

4.  Be Hospitable - If you aren't, your employees won't be.  If you and your employees treat people well, your property will become a place that people want to be.  Make sure your policies don't limit your hospitality to guests.  Hospitality is the key to re-booking business.

Remember -
     *  Make it easy for groups to come back another year
     *  Keep in touch - make sure your meeting planners know they are wanted
     *  Remember that history is valuable
     *  Fight for your group - it's about ministry not convenience

If you take the time to consistently, thoughtfully and intentionally care for your guests, you will succeed in keeping them.

I've been reading a lot about going "green".  I have been recycling for a while now but haven't implemented the "green" movement much beyond that because...

1.  I hadn't really thought about things like my clothing or make-up harming the environment.

2. Buying organic is expensive.

   However, going green isn't just about reduce, reuse and recycle, it's also about sustainability.  I just didn't think about fabric dyes or cleaning chemicals being harmful to environment much less being absorbed thru my skin.  So here is the plan, some things may take more time than others but when I have a plan I am much more likely to stick to it. 

• Conserve energy
• Reduce waste
• Shop at the local farmers market
• Shop for natural fabrics and dyes
• Buy recycled products
• Buy organic

These are some "green" ideas I an trying, what about you?

I was at a workshop the other day and the presenter was using a power point to go along with her presentation.  I found the slides so distracting that it was difficult to stay focused on what the speaker was talking about.  I began to think about the presentations that I make with power point and wondered if my slides were distracting too.  So I started doing some research on it and found the following information on the use of color and thought I would share it with you.

Individual color responses are based on powerful learned responses as well as innate physical, mental and involuntary emotional references. In other words, there are strong cultural factors to take into account, and at the same time, everyone may respond in a unique and independent way to the colors you choose for your event. What follows is based on culturally dominant color references in the United States.


Orange
• Instills a sense of energy
• Heightens cheerfulness,social interaction
• Encourages movement, gives vigor

Red
• Stimulates appetite
• Associated with impulse, desire, passion
• Promotes vitality and intensity of experience
• Provokes the urge to achieve results and succeed
• Increases blood pressure and pulse rate
• Warms, enriches

Yellow
• Instills happy, carefree feelings
• Restores personal balance
• Supports optimism
• Improves memory and creative expression
• Promotes a positive attitude

Green
• Promotes optimal use of willpower
• Creates a cool, relaxing,soothing feeling
• Establishes balance and harmony, friendly feelings
• Supports concentration and focus
• Reinforces analysis, precision, accuracy

Blue
• Promotes feelings of peace and calm
• Supports increased sensitivity
• Promotes feelings of loyalty, security, contentment
• Reinforces tradition and lasting values
• Lowers blood pressure and pulse rate
• Suggests safety, trust
• Deep blue may be associated with a conservative world-view

Pink
• Strongly associated with femininity
• Suggests a loving, nurturing, soothing environment
• Encourages healing, resting
• Stimulates intellect and clarity of thought

Violet/Purple
• Supports creativity
• Seen as regal, dignified, royal and powerful in some settings; others may yield notions of being mystical, magical, full of surprises or enchanting
• Lighter shades may suggest an irresponsible or immature nature

Gray
• Strongly associated with neutrality and borders
• Suggests solidity, security, objectivity and professionalism
(Warning: Gray is bland and uninspiring when used alone.)

Black
• Creates an authoritative, somber attitude
• Perceived as mysterious, sophisticated, stylish
• Carries overtones of being, contemporary, sturdy and substantial
• When used effectively, may suggest power

Brown
• Suggests a reduced sense of vitality
• Perceived as passive, receptive, sensory
• Suggests desire for family, a home, physical ease, solid roots

White
• Strongly associated with innocence, cleanliness, goodness, simplicity, purity
• In some settings, also may be used to send messages of glamor, sophistication, excellence

Facebook is the favored social media option for building community, making it well-suited for religious organizations.

With discipline and focus, your Facebook page can become the content hub for your event.

BUILD YOUR FAN BASE. Begin by searching Facebook for people you know who are already part of your event's community and “friend” them. Use Facebook to conduct searches of people, pages, and groups to identify people in your denomination who might be interested in your content and your event; then “friend” them. Encourage them to do the same. Promote your Facebook presence on other sites to attract people to become your friend or fan.

PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR PAGE AND STRIVE TO UPDATE IT DAILY. You must give people fresh reasons to spend time with you on the Web.

LET FACEBOOK DO WHAT IT IS BEST AT DOING, creating buzz and facilitating participant involvement.

USE TRIAL AND ERROR. Testing is a key part of refining your Facebook presence. If something is not working, change it. If it is working, improve it.

DIRECT FANS TO YOUR ORGANIZATION'S WEB SITE. Add value and make your social media fun, but also provide links to send people to spiritual-growth resources on your organization's Web site.

KEEP REVIEWING. Take time to examine what you are doing. Keep asking: Is our content aligned with our mission?

CELEBRATE SUCCESSES. Thank your team and fans and gear up for the next challenge.

THINK LONG-TERM. Facebook can do more than just build attendance for your event. Use your page as part of a strategy that will make your event a vital component of your faith community.

DO NOT SHUT DOWN YOUR EVENT PAGE AFTER AN EVENT ENDS. Instead, use the page as a perpetual tool for building connections and generating interest for future events.

LEARN FROM THE BEST AND LEVERAGE THEIR KNOWLEDGE. There are many people with a lot of Facebook experience; many are on the congregational level. Ask them to help you improve your Facebook presence.

I read an article on the Health Benefits of Humor.  Have you ever noticed that laughter is contagious?  All it takes is one person and before you know it, people are laughing.  Laughter can cause a domino effect of joy and amusement and quite possibly help some of the following.

• Reduce Stress
• Lower Blood Pressure
• Elevate Mood
• Boost Immune System
• Improve Brain Function
• Protect the Heart
• Connect You to Others
• Relaxation

Sounds like I should go rent a comedy and laugh, laugh, laugh.

How are we doing?

The church that is.  Congregations have long measured success by "bodies, budget and buildings" - a record of attendance, the offering plate and square footage.  But the scorecard can't stop there.  When it does, the deeper emphasis on accountability, discipleship and spiritual maturity is lost.  Ignoring those details, we see fewer lives changed by the gospel, more congregations fracture and the church's cultural influence wane - a situation that is all too familiar among churches today.

Based on the most comprehensive study of its kind, Transformational Church takes us to the thriving congregations where truly changing lives is the standard set for ministry.  Having interviewed thousands of pastors and church members, Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer clearly confirm the importance of the mindset, values and actions necessary to become a Transformational Church in the midst of God's kingdom mission.  As churches and believers remain faithful to these biblical and statistically informed principles, the world will see the change:

• People being changed by the power of the gospel
• Believers growing in their faith
• Churches making an impact on their communities and the world

THE TRANSFORMATION STARTS NOW.

Visit the Transformational Church website to explore all of the tools and resources available.  For information on the Transformational Church Conference click here.

I thought we might have some fun in the wake of Valentines Day.  I love chocolate, and if you're like most women (and some men I know), you have a love affair with chocolate too! See how well you know this rich and delicious treat with this true/false quiz:

1. True. Let's move there!
2. True.
3. False. Tan became part of the mix in 1949. Before that, the fifth color was violet.
4. True. Strange. But true.
5. False. It was 1848. Prior to that chocolate was only available to drink.
6. False. He started out making caramels before entering the chocolate business.
7. True. And what a great value!
8. True. Well, the beans used the make chocolate do!
9. True. And, I'll just add here a bless her heart!
10. True.
     
    *The photo of chocolate shoes was one I just couldn't resist.