Leadership With Vulnerability and ThanksgivingSample

Day Three: Thank the Good Lord

We’ve been learning some powerful leadership lessons from Lynsi Snyder, CEO of In-N-Out Burger.

One of the most helpful truths Lynsi shared with me came from her grandmother. “Thank the good Lord” was how her grandmother started countless sentences. She thanked the good Lord for everything under the sun, including her five senses!

How many of us are that specifically grateful to God each day? Imagine thanking God for your coffee, or your hearing that tells you there’s a bird outside, or that your car started so you can drive to work. I wonder what our days would look like—what even our business and personal challenges would look like—if we were constantly grateful to God.

Now I know not all of us have had the privilege of being grateful for a fresh In-N-Out hamburger, but let me tell you, it is one of God’s most delicious gifts. As we end this short series of leadership devotionals, I want to close on a note of gratitude, yes, but also of plain old fun.

You see, In-N-Out has a customer-first culture, and over the decades, customers have created unique orders that are now standard at all locations, even though they aren’t on the menu. These range from triple-flavor milkshakes to wrapping your burger in lettuce instead of buns. The most famous is ordering a burger “Animal Style” (which adds pickles, fried mustard, extra sauce, and grilled onions), a hack that goes all the way back to rowdy SoCal teens in the 50s and 60s who were ordering the burgers that way…and acting like animals while they ate them! My personal favorite secret order is a “Flying Dutchman,” partially because I’m Dutch, and partially because it’s just hilarious that I can order a cheeseburger where the buns are replaced with meat. It’s messy, but worth it.

When I interviewed Lynsi on the podcast, I got the chance to ask the most important question of all: what does the CEO of In-N-Out Burger order for herself? Turns out it’s hold the lettuce, hold the tomato, double meat, extra spread, pickle, and chopped chilis. I’m not sure if this is recognized as “Lynsi Style” at every location, but order it for yourself and see if Lynsi has created the ultimate burger flavor.

Thanks for reading or listening along these three days. I hope you’ve been inspired to pray passionately for God’s direction—and to trust God when he redirects your life. No matter where God leads you, be vulnerable with others and grateful to God for every gift.

To Consider

It may seem funny to be thankful for something as simple as a hamburger, but all good gifts are from God. What are some simple things you are thankful for?

To Pray

God, thank you for providing for me. Even small, seemingly insignificant things can still bring me joy and stir up my gratitude to you. Amen.

Listen to Lynsi's full episode now.