You Didn't Plant That?

Life lessons abound in a variety of places.  I've spent some time over the last couple years looking at trends and writing about life lessons. Many of our experiences in this life lead to lessons learned and practical applications for the future. What seems to be a simple day, game, or training becomes an opportunity to learn something deeper that helps us to grow as individuals.

I recently had such an experience as it relates to my home garden.  Each year I tend to plant a little something in the spring, usually a combination of flowers, vegetables and greenery.  Some years I plant more than others, and sometimes the garden is planted directly in the ground and sometimes in pots on the deck.  I've decided I prefer using pots on the deck...so much easier to control weeds really.

This year was different though.  I had a very busy spring and as much as I enjoy planting and playing in the dirt, I ended up with no time to plant.  So strangely after returning from a recent conference, I went outside to discover some things growing in my pots.

Read the rest of the post one at my weekly spot with w2wministries.org - just click here to go directly to the post.

Raising Them to Leave

When they are small it’s hard to imagine our children growing up and leaving us one day in the future.  They are tiny and need us virtually every waking moment, and sometimes they wake us up too. I’ll never forget, or recover from, the middle of the night heart attacks when one of my children, a very light walker could make it all the way in our room and be leaning over my face to whisper my name.  There is nothing quite like the heart failure of being woken up like that.  Or the time another of my children decided to sleep walk right out of a hotel room in the middle of the night.  #truestory  Crazy memories of trying to operate in a sleep deprived fog and just put one foot in front of the other only get funny after some time has passed.  Add teething, stomach bugs, and wet beds to the mix and really once you have a child you shouldn’t plan on a full night’s sleep until they are at least 10, maybe 20.

Of course I am exaggerating, sort of, and that’s why it’s hard to imagine that one day these challenging days will end.  One day, inevitably, they grow up and they launch out into the world to find and become the adults they were created to be.  While we are busy in those daily tasks of just keeping them alive, or keeping a sharpie marker out of their hands, it’s easy to forget we are raising future adults.  We want them to have certain character qualities as adults, but how many times do we think about the need to teach them responsibility when we are desperate to get the laundry from the washer to the dryer after one cycle instead of restarting it for the third time.

I’ve been in your shoes, and some days still find myself there – days that seem entirely too long and too busy.  If I’m not careful, a week goes by or a month and I wonder what have I done to help build character in my children.

Interested in reading the rest of this post?  Keep reading over on the w2wministries.org site - just click here!

Loving our Children Well

One of my favorite books that has been incredibly encouraging to me as a wife and mom is Boundaries.  Written by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend way back in 1992, it has been revised and become part of a series with other books added through the years.  This series replete with Biblical principles has impacted my parenting, and when my children started to approach their teen years, I eagerly picked up another Boundaries book Boundaries for Teens.  There is very practical and applicable information that has helped me to navigate proper boundaries and still show love to my family.  As an only child dealing with conflict is definitely one of my weaknesses.  Because of this, I have a tendency to avoid conflict at all costs.  This is perilous as a mother! This series assisted me in moving through all the new relationships and the changes in seasons as we went from toddler years and adolescence. Check out the rest of the post over at w2wministries.org!

Praying you'll have a great weekend!

Mother's Day Rest

I recently had the opportunity to speak to mothers and daughters who had gathered for an afternoon tea. It was a super sweet occasion and not only fun for the little girls to drink from the fancy cups, but also for the moms and grandmothers, aunts, etc. to just enjoy a time away from the normal hectic Saturday afternoon activities.  As mothers, it’s important to take some time to step away because it’s so easy to stay stuck in the cycle of routine. I enjoyed sharing with the ladies some of what the Lord had been teaching me as we made some comparisons between our spiritual lives and making a good cup of tea.  Perhaps the funniest part of the event was that I had brought one of my favorite mugs from home – “wake up and be awesome” and made sure it was good and dirty.

(referencing Matthew 23:25, 26 - Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.)

Curious where this headed?  click here and read the rest of the story :)

Also please be sure to get some extra free resources I have made available for you my readers.  Thank you for all of your support!

Coloring Pages – designed for your children with Mother’s Day in mind. Click here for the link to the pages, when you click the images they will give you the ability to download the free PDF file that you can print.

Bible Study on Joy – download your free study here Choose Joy!

We will be digging into this study in Facebook Live sessions at the Encouraging Women Today Facebook page each Monday at 4pm. Come join me here!

What’s in Your Cup – study on Christian Living - just click here for the download!

God of the Hills & Valleys

Beautiful encouraging word in Song! https://youtu.be/8iDuZv_5MQk

It's entirely possible I love this acoustic version best  - no surprise :)

https://youtu.be/p4rRCjrAyCs

Less is More

A new blog post is up over at w2wministries.org.  I hope you'll check it out.  I really believe that in a day and time where we are pushed to get the new and next thing, or to continue to overbook our lives, taking a moment to assess the needs is important. You can read more here

Praying you'll be encouraged today!

UNPLUG!

Now more than ever we seem to be living on sensory overload!

Have you noticed it too?  Maybe it has crept in on you and the subtle changes to the way you live are not too noticeable.  Or maybe you’ve been aware, but since everyone is doing it you have joined them.  It’s hard not to join in when you see the tops of everyone’s heads as they stay engrossed in their phones and the apps on them.

Now before I go any further I’m not saying technology is bad.  It’s not.  It is so useful and convenient for some many things. I am personally on my laptop, Ipad, phone, etc. numerous hours a week.  But the more we use it, the more we use it.  I realize that was a deep one. But have you noticed just how much we rely on our stuff.  The smaller the gadgets get also the more they invade our every process.  My watch now vibrates my arm on a regular basis reminding me to drink water, to stand up, to get some exercise, what the latest breaking news is and when someone is texting or calling and I don’t have my phone.  Now it’s an incredible convenience and helps me stay on top of things that are good for me and needful, but it can also interrupt my line of thought and keep me off focus.

Read more of this article over at w2wministries.org - just click here

PS - I am getting ready to launch a video series on Finding Joy in our Everyday lives!  I'd love to have you join me!  If you haven't signed up for the newsletter for Encouraging Women Today - you'll want to do so to receive the latest updates.  Also if you aren't on the Facebook page for Encouraging Women today - join us - This is where I will be hosting the Facebook Lives for this project!

Click here for the newsletter signup

Click here for the Facebook page link

I look forward to seeing each of you there!

The Value of a Good Attitude

As a mom who has worked with my own children and many others in my music studio for more than twenty years now, I have realized that if I could encourage parents along the journey with something in particular it would be in the area of life lessons.  I began a blog and outlined a book about life lessons with this sole purpose, and still believe it to be one of the biggest things that I would love for parents to hear and understand. Learning life lessons that enable children to become better, more responsible adults truly begins in our homes.  Reading this week here, I was surprised to find that many millennials when asked what age adulthood begins respond with the age of 30 or even 40!  What?!  How did this happen? Why did we allow them to believe that their adolescence should and could stretch this far?

While I cannot and will not say that I have all the answers because I truly don’t, I think that we can as parents take an active role in helping our children in their maturity.  We can then encourage those young families with young children to begin the same process in their homes.  While we can’t reap mature adults right away, we can begin to make progress and turn this ship around!

Read the rest over at my post on w2wministries.com

Reclaiming Laughter!

We are plagued in today’s society and our homes by a real travesty.  One that is sneaky and underhanded but devastating nonetheless. Today our homes are in dire need of some humor and lightheartedness.  Dare I even say – we just need to laugh more! Lest you think this is an easy task for me or even possibly one that I have personally mastered, you must understand that I am type A, only child, goal oriented INFJ who has a tendency to think that laughter is not necessary.  That is until it’s missing for a bit, and everyone is on edge and the mood is miserable.  Then…I stop and try to figure out what’s going on!

This happens in our home when my husband travels.  Certain times of the year he can be gone for several days or even a week or more at a time.  We tend to roll along our merry way for a day or two, but eventually things tend to get a bit tense.  There are three females in the house after all…can I get a witness!  My poor son, y’all pray for him!  Needless to say, my husband who is very even tempered and quick witted tends to keep our home lighthearted and when he’s gone, his absence is definitely noticed.

So what’s a girl to do?

Read the rest of the post over at w2wministries - just click here!

The Importance of Prayer Ministry

One of my favorite books on prayer, Quiet Talks on Prayer, relates a story from DL Moody’s evangelistic ministry. The story hinged on one woman’s prayers during a season of sickness. Homebound and heartsick, she found instead a greater calling to a deeper prayer time. She spent time in prayer for her church, for the services, and for salvation of the lost souls in her community. She read a story in a journal, sometime into her new season of life, about Mr. Moody and the work he was doing in the United States.  Her prayer became an almost daily petition.   For more than year, she prayed that he would come to London and preach in their church. Yet during all this time she had no sign that her prayers would be answered. No encouragement. No confirmation.  Nothing.

This is an except of a post I have up at Woman to Woman today - you can read the rest here...

4 ways to Thrive not just Survive

This blog post is featured in my weekly column at woman to woman ministries today - I hope you'll head over and recieve encouragement there as well. God does not intend for us to only survive the rigors of this life.  Sometimes in the course of life, certain seasons carry more burdens than others certainly, but I believe that God’s desire is for us to thrive through each of the seasons. Scripture reminds us in many different verses – but here are three passages to consider:

• John 10:10 tells us in Christ’s own words that he came for us to have life “more abundantly.”
• David describes it in Psalms 23 as an “overflowing cup.”
• John 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

This is much easier said than done though.  It’s difficult to think of thriving for instance when you are busy:

• Picking up the dirty laundry off the floor for the hundredth time that day
• Changing that dirty diaper again when you just got cleaned up from the last one
• Preparing one more meal in a day (especially if you homeschool – right mamas?)
• Feeling and sharing the intense pain of rejection and heartache from our teenagers as they navigate the path to adulthood.
• Dealing with the threat of loss of financial stability, health, jobs, and much more

Read the rest of this post here...

Owning my Inadequacy

My current Bible reading plan has me reading 10 chapters a day. Mostly you move ahead to the next book of the Bible as each is completed, with readings through the Old and New Testaments.  The only difference is the book of Acts and Proverbs.  When you finish those you start again.  It's a little confusing to explain, but if you google Professor Grant Horner's Bible Reading system you can find some more info there.  I have really enjoyed this method this year. I try to change things up each year as I read through the Bible, because I just find new and wonderful nuggets along the way.  This morning was just such a time for me but it happened in my first chapter - so I was stuck just pondering the passage for a while. Has that happened for you? You've read something before, but never has the thought struck about the way things are worded or why Jesus said or did something the way he did?  It's so exciting for me after all these years to continually be shown new things, and to have new thoughts leap up from the pages to my brain so I thought my encouraging word for you today would come from what I read this morning - I hope you will be encouraged by it.

Luke 9:10-17 Sets the scene once again for the feeding of the five thousand.  This is such an exciting time in the gospels as Jesus is teaching and leading and healing the people coming to him for help.  This is also not the only time we read of this story - it's just from Luke's gospel this time.  This record of events states that the 12 disciples came to Jesus asking him to send the large crowd away.  They needed food and lodging and the disciples were concerned because they were in a desolate place.

Now mind you I've read this account multiple times before but I was struck today by Jesus' reply - vs. 13 But he said to them, "You give them something to eat."  Now Jesus was already aware that they had no provisions for 5,000 men but they responded anyway with the fact that they only had five loaves and two fish.  I found it interesting that instead of Jesus just saying, yes you are right, we have no food I need to perform a miracle with the little we have, his first response was to tell them to feed them.

For me in that moment, I couldn't just keep reading, because I know that is exactly what God does with me in my life.  He reveals my complete lack. My emptiness, and brokenness. My weakness and my failures. My inadequacy to do anything meaningful on my own. My complete mess of my own making with no answers in sight, so that He can reveal His glory in my story.  He took the little they gathered and blessed it and fed the crowd WITH LEFTOVERS afterward.  He revealed to them what they could not do so that they could see His vast omnipotence and miraculous hand in and over all.

How exciting!  Let me be honest though, it's not often that I want to count up my failures and weakness.  Truth be told, I'm rather a "take charge" and get it done kind of person and  I work to get things figured out.  He reminded me in the quiet this morning that He already has it all figured out, and He is just waiting for me to realize it.

What a gift our relationship is with Him. My encouragement for you is to please - take the time to sit in His presence.  Nothing will help you face your day better than to dwell with Him.

Ambition, Time and Frugality

I had started a completely different post to share with y’all today.  But I’ve scrapped it because this has been relevant for me this month, and possibly, just maybe someone else can relate and be encouraged. One of my character strengths/flaws is being ambitious.

It’s a strength because it gives me great drive to pursue goals. And I am always and forever working on goals – I don’t think there will ever come a time for me to just sit and chill longterm.  This ambitiousness propels me forward to pursue things that don’t come easy and gives me motivation to work hard.

It’s a flaw because well, for all the things listed above.  I’m very goal oriented, not people oriented and I can get so involved in meeting self imposed deadlines, and working goals that I can lose track of time and forget that relationships are the core of human interaction.  It can be very hard for me to pull away from a task when I’m in and working hard, but some days I have to set a timer and stick to it – it’s the only way for me to limit myself.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and found myself once again today immersed in a whole pile of to-do’s.  You see I’ve been a bit frustrated lately about being “behind” on my 90 day goals.  I’m behind for a very logical reason, but I’m frustrated with myself because I feel I could and should be doing more.  Does this make sense to anyone?  I had to sit down and evaluate where my time was going.  See I have a part time job that usually holds itself to 10 hours or less.  This month every week has been above 25 hours.  That in itself should make me feel better, but still…

Most of my days are 17 hours,  some are slightly less, and some are more.  I make myself take the first two hours of my day and create space in my schedule.  The space gives me the opportunity to drink my coffee, wake up and watch the sunrise, pray for my friends and family and spend time reading my Bible.  I’ve taken on an ambitious reading plan – 10 chapters a day – which has helped me to finish the following books of the Bible already this year –

Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I Thessalonians, II Thessalonians, I Timothy, II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, Joshua – almost finished with Matthew, Genesis, I Corinthians, I Peter, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Judges, Isaiah, Acts.   In this time I also read and review books which have included 3 Bible Studies this month, getting ready to begin another one.

From there, my days involve a variety of tasks – just like many of you.  Cooking, cleaning, homeschooling, helping my children run a business – sometimes this includes advertising, social media, copywriting, etc., running to the doctor, dentist, well checks, etc. etc. etc. etc. I am taking classes on marketing, building my brand, SEO adwords, websites, landing pages, and online courses.  I am working to create a new landing page and starting my online course website including curriculum handouts and important info.  I have 12 writing projects that I want to flesh out this year, and get contracts for - a girl can hope. And I’m working on speaking/conference materials. I teach piano lessons, and run kids to sports activities and events and babysitting. I create daily coloring pages for free, and keep the books of multiple businesses and our personal finances.  I haven’t listed church work yet, but I think you get the picture already – right?  And at the end of the day I’m tired, and don’t feel as if I’m getting much done.

Anyone tracking here?  So I have also been thinking about something else.  I am by nature very frugal.  Or stingy…or whatever other word you like.  I sympathize with Paul and his writings when he said he knew how "to be abased and how to abound."  I’ve been there – when we haven’t had two nickels to rub together, and when we have been comfortable.  Doesn’t matter, I tend to be very conservative with my spending…but here’s the kicker – not so much with my TIME!

Bear with me, I’m just coming to grips with the reality that just because I can do something, it doesn’t mean I should.  I mean if I need to create nice pictures, memes and posts, I will spend the time and energy to do it and figure it out.  The problem here is the time factor.  Someone else could for just a few dollars create something just as nice and wonderful, and I could spend my time doing the things I’m made for.

Maybe you’re not worried about making memes and posts.  What about the convenience of grocery shopping services.  How much time could you save, if you just went and picked up your food, instead of spending the time looking for the groceries.  Would it be worth $5?

What about discount clothes? I spent years ONLY buying things on sale because I couldn’t justify the added expense of buying something I really loved when it wasn’t on sale.  My husband reminded me that buying things that don’t look or fit right just because they are on sale, they are actually a waste of money instead of a savings.

Don’t get me wrong.  I prefer a sale, and I have loved my couponing days.  There’s a huge thrill to getting those things that I do love, for a great discount. If at all possible I do try to get things for a discount or with a coupon code.  I always try.

But with regards to time, my husband has been trying to communicate this to me for years.  I guess I’m just a slow learner. I always thought he was against doing crafts and projects because he thought it was silly, but the reality was that he was against the time factor.  His view that if it’s not a strength, and we are just trying to do it to save money, we are just spending time instead.

Sometimes outsourcing the tasks you do, makes more sense. Perhaps not in a financial way, but a way that matters more – time is a commodity we all only have so much of.  We have to use it wisely and spend it doing the things we were put on earth to do.  Just because I can do it, doesn’t mean I should…I’m learning.  I'm not there yet, but I'm learning.

Bible Studies & Giveaways!

The recent Bible studies released through Women of Faith include 3 titles – Building Your Strengths, Praying with Power and Giving God your Future. Each study includes twelve weeks of lessons with easy to understand illustrations.  The questions for each lesson have you turning in your Bibles to find the answers and prompt deeper thought about each topic.  There are multiple insets throughout the book with a quote or verse highlighted for special focus. Each lesson also contains three smaller sections at the end helping to dig deeper into the topic for the week, how to meditate and pray, and a trinket to treasure – an object designed to help us remember the lesson.  The format is easy to follow and the consistency between the books make each one an easy transition to the next.  With forwards written by Patsy Clairmont and Thelma Wells, the name recognition give to each study should help it be very successful on shelves in bookstores. Each lesson is fairly short.  The illustration/explanation is usually just the first page, most of the study relies on answering the questions which are firmly based in Scripture.  These studies will not take an enormous amount of time each day to complete and can be easily added to your ongoing Bible reading without creating too much additional work.  I appreciate so much that the majority of the questions in these studies leads you back to your Bible – the answers aren’t found in the book itself.  This is a feature that is a huge benefit I believe for encouraging actual study to take place in our Bibles.

Included in the back of the book is a leader guide, in case someone chose to do this study with a small group – no extra purchase is necessary.  It is extremely convenient, not to mention a great savings for those of us used to having to purchase an additional leader’s guide to conduct a study.

After having planned on reading Praying with Power first, I decided to sit down one afternoon and take a quick glance through on Building Your Strengths.  Instead of glancing through though, I stopped and did the study and read the book in its entirety.  This is a very practical guide to thinking through our strengths and how God can use them to further His kingdom.  Not just stopping with our own strength though the author does make sure to acknowledge the Divine Strength that we as children have access to in God our Father.  The practical application of all the chapters is an outward focus which I believe is an important one for us women as we can many times become consumed by the demands on our time and energy. I look forward to finishing all 3 of these studies in the days ahead.

From the foreword Building Your Strengths - "If God sends us on strong paths, we are provided strong shoes.” Corrie Ten Boom

IF you’d like a free copy of each of these three studies – you are in luck!  I’m giving away one set of these three books to one lucky winner!  Follow the instructions below - do all three things:

1. Leave a comment on the blog by sharing which book you’d be most interested in reading.
2. Like the Encouraging Women Today Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/encouragingwomen2day/
3. Share this giveaway with others –either by sharing the links to the website encouragingwomentoday.com or the Facebook page link to this blog post.

Goal Setting is Inspiring & Encouraging

I made a quick Facebook post yesterday asking what people were planning for their goals for 2017.  It was a post generated from my personal assessments and plans that I'm putting into place for this next year.  I always spend most of December thinking through the last year and anticipating what things I can jump into for the new year. Here's what I posted -

What goals are you setting for 2017? I'd love to hear them. Share away!!

I'm not sure what kind of response I would receive but I was pleasantly surprised to see that the longer the post has been on my page, the more responses I receive.

One of the things I have learned through adulthood is the value of accountability.  I'm mostly a lone ranger at heart - only child, very driven and ambitious, and not much of a team player.  I've always been able to do more on my own.  But as I get older, I can see the value of accountability in relationships.

Perhaps it's the blunting edge of age on my life, or motherhood and finding sisterhood in that journey that's helped me see that journeying WITH others is better than lone ranger.  While I'm still in charge of my own destiny, knowing that others are aware of what I'm trying to accomplish and that they are cheering me on or giving me a swift kick when I'm down, accountability has been such a good thing for me to seek out.

Accountability to others helped me accomplish my goal to memorize the book of James this summer.  Knowing that I would receive a text asking how my scripture memory was going, or an email or even an encouraging message on Facebook about what it meant to them to hear those verses recited out loud.  I felt the extra push some weeks that someone would regret not hearing me share if I didn't reach the memory goal for the week.

Sometimes I think we don't actually share our big dreams, or goals because we are worried about failure.  I wrote about failure not too long ago over on my other blog - you can read more here if you'd like.  The reality is most of us are afraid to fail.  We'd rather not step out of our comfort zone if it means we risk failure.  The beauty of success though is looking back and realize that failure might have happened along the way but it was not a stopping point, it was the catalyst to the success that came later!

Anyway - I found that several people were willing to share their goals with me - and I was given the unique opportunity to cheer them on.  Some I know very well, some not so much - but we were each bound with the anticipation and inspiration of looking ahead and saying out loud what we want to accomplish.  So.very.powerful.

So I ask you the same question - I don't care how young or old you are.  I don't care how busy you are or how difficult is right now.  The moment you stop dreaming you stop living. I speak from experience.  Sometime in the middle of motherhood, I found myself just doing what needed to be done each day without really allowing myself to dream about the future.  With dreaming about the future, planning ahead is so important, and for so long I didn't do it.  I was afraid to fail, and afraid to want something that I couldn't have.  Totally faulty mindset there.  Don't fall in the trap!  Be inspired!  Be encouraged!  Think about those things you've always said you'd do. One day. When the kids are grown. Maybe that's not what you are waiting for, waiting for any next step to happen before you dream about the future is stifling and limiting.

So share with me!  What are your goals for 2017?  I'd love to hear them and cheer you on!

Apples of Gold

Here is a repost of a blog written for Life Lessons earlier this Spring.  I was thinking on this passage in Proverbs again this week and had two incidents of someone speaking encouragement to me that I so desperately needed.  It was such a blessing. I did some more reading on the word "fitly" in this passage.  Several commentaries had some insight  - some feel that the word fitly refers to the idea of being in "season."  I like this imagery especially with the fruit analogy. But I also appreciate the idea of it meaning "quickly."  We should never resist the opportunity to speak words of kindness and encouragement to someone else and to do it with quickness.  I know that my procrastination sometimes leads me to not do something - the same is in a moment where I am prompted to speak an encouraging word to someone and don't, I'm not likely to revisit that moment again. It's best to act on those promptings with immediacy.

Another reason to act quickly is that we have no idea what tomorrow holds for us.  James reminds us that life is a vapor. We need to speak kindness and encouragement while we still have the time to do so.  Tragic circumstances exist all around us each day.  Sometimes they touch our lives personally and these days hurt.  Don't delay in speaking your words - when fitly spoken they are apples of gold in pictures of silver.

Here is the other post from April - I hope it will encourage you!

http://lifelessonsinmyhead.com/the-gift-of-encouragement/

Organizing your Schedule

I know.  You read that blog title and thought..how in the world is this going to encourage me today?  I know. I get it..and it was a strange direction for me to take, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that it seemed to actually make sense.  Bear with me for a minute, because I do believe I can pull this into an encouraging post!

I have worked for years to develop a practical workable schedule that makes sense and helps me to get the most out of day.  On any given day, I am combining multiple work loads.  For instance, I homeschool a 7th and 10th grader, I currently write for 3 blogs, am editing my first novel, am finalizing proposals for 2 nonfiction books, writing devotionals for a work for hire project, growing my social media platforms with intentional posts, teaching piano lessons, shipping coffee orders, and writing book reviews.  I'm busy.

Sometimes the actual typing out of that list, makes me itchy and feeling stressed.  I juggle many hats and I do enjoy it, but I needed a systematic process to be sure I'm getting things done.

I enjoyed the following read today - take a moment to read it if you will!  Just click here

I also checked this article out - you can read it here

So what do you think?

I've always been a Stephen Covey - 15 minute segments for the day girl.  But I have found that my creative pursuits - Music, Writing, blogging etc. require a broader brush and limited distractions, i.e. Facebook, email, etc.

Perhaps there's a hybrid?  I believe this is what works best for me - housework, email, bills, homeschool, business needs all work within a 15 minute framework.  I accomplish a whole lot more around the house, if I'll schedule it in 15 minute blocks.  I can grade homeschool papers, tests and projects more quickly if I know it doesn't have to drag out all day - 15 minutes is an easy mental task.  But the creative work - writing, editing, all of these need a chunk of time.  I need to think and not shift my mind off course checking emails, twitter and Facebook updates.  Also texting and phone calls can veer my brain out of "creative" mode.

So how in the world does this fall under an "encouragement" umbrella?  Here's how..when we fail to plan, we plan to fail.  No not my original words, but such truth friends.  We all have good intentions, and have dreams inside.  Can I encourage you to plan it into your schedule?  What are your dreams, desires and goals?  what could you do with 2 hours at night after work, or when the kids are in bed to accomplish your dreams?

What could you do if you organized housework into a few 15 minute blocks per day? would that not reduce your stress?  Personally, any amount of stress reduction I can add into my day, adds quality to my life and encouragement that I need.

What works for you?  I'd love to have some feedback and I do hope that this does encourage you.

Here's my favorite verse that encourages my productivity

Ecc 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

https://medium.com/the-mission/why-deep-work-helps-you-get-more-done-in-less-time-39de3f5e9ae6#.31y9x51b6

Anxiety and Hurricanes

This morning during my quiet time, I spent time thinking about Hurricane Matthew that has torn through Haiti, and is now apparently setting his sights on Florida.  Anytime a hurricane develops, I feel a familiar pit in my stomach.  Although it’s been 11 years now since the landfall of a hurricane on the mainland United States, the monstrous effects of Hurricane Ivan on me, and my family personally, remain.  While I, my mom, and the kids evacuated from Hurricane Ivan just prior to its landfall on the panhandle of Florida on September 16, 2004, my husband remained behind to help with rescue and recovery efforts.  The effects of that hurricane remain on my life forever.  My husband stayed because he was a volunteer fireman in our local fire department and felt his presence was vital to help our community with recover. He and the crew evacuated just far enough inland to still be accessible once the hurricane had passed through as they were ordered to stay off the roads until the all clear.  I’ll leave his escapades for a future post for another day, but suffice it to say he and the rest of the crew are true heroes and some of the most selfless people I have ever known. They were even featured in an episode of Storm Stories that the Weather Channel used to produce. The kids, my mom and I evacuated, remarkably now in hindsight - since we now live here- to the Memphis area to stay with dear friends.  It was a forever long week, and the recovery time even longer.  It sobers me today to even think about it again.  We had significant damage in our home, our community and elevated fears for myself and the children.  Our future for the next few years was marked by distinct changes with regards to how we watched hurricanes.  For me, I was constantly check the tropical waves coming off the coast of Africa, the naming of the newest “invest #” and tropical depression status all the way to hurricane.  Once it had a track, I was tracking it.  I watched the radar, and could tell you each wobble based on the eye movement.  Literally obsessed with it, I remember vividly the anxiety of going through another Ivan brought me.  Katrina arrived the next year and while the landfall was clearly west of us, I still evacuated once again because it was terrifying. For the kids, it was the fear of having to grab just a few items and evacuate again.

We have moved since then, and Florida hasn’t seen a major hurricane in years.  I stopped tracking ever single movement of every dust storm off of Africa, and I’m thankful.  I didn’t realize at the time how very fearful I was, it’s only in retrospect that I understand the grip it had on my heart.

So today, I feel great empathy for my friends in Florida and along the eastern seaboard.  As they shop for essentials just in case there is no electricity after the hurricane, or make hotel arrangements in case they need to get off the coast.  The added expenses if you are already financial strapped can be crippling.  The anxiety of the “what if’s” and which way will it go can be unbearable mentally.  I empathize. I have been there and done that.  So I pray and ask the Lord, the one who controls the winds and the waves to quiet the storm.  I pray for those in it’s path to dwell in the knowledge of His care for them, and for those who have already weathered the storm, I pray for them as the rebuild their lives once again.  For a country like Haiti, it’s an even more devastating proposition because they already struggled to begin with.

Hurricane season doesn’t mean what it used to for me, but I will never forget.  I have travelled that road and it wasn’t easy.  I am thankful for the comfort of Scripture!

Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, And He brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed. Psalm 107:28-29

Perhaps you don’t actually have to face Hurricane Matthew today, but there is another circumstance in your life that feels as overwhelming as a hurricane.  I wrote about my own experience with that here. I know that mentally the anxiety can build for you as well.  I spent time praying this morning as well for my friends and family who are facing cancer and it’s treatments and surgery, for those facing the loss of a loved one, and those who are enduring financial burdens.  I pray you keep your eyes on the One who will sustain you and carry you through those turbulent days as well!