Wednesday – Freebies

Freebie #1 – Freshbooks.com

Use their free version to help you track and manage one of your most precious resources — your time.

Freebie #2 – ConnectWorkTasks.com

Visit my new Virtual Assistant site and let me help you free-up more of your most precious resource so that you can do the life-giving things that are most important to you. 20% through August 31, 2021.

Freebie #3 – Tip for managing your most precious resource

Start your day the night before; before the day’s end review tomorrow’s tasks and meetings so that you have a mental framework of tomorrow. Then, if you want to take it to the next level, decide one small next step for each task. Finally, sleep peacefully.

Freebie #4 – Giants will Fall, Bill Johnson message from August 15, notes

Defeating giants is a theme I am hearing from many voices these past two weeks. Below are the notes I banged out while listening to the podcast for a third time. (The link will take you to a website; the podcast is also available wherever you usually listen as Bethel Sermon of the Week). Enjoy!!!

Giants will Fall, Bill Johnson, August 15, 2021

Jesus came to earth commissioned by God 1 Jn. 3-8
Righteous anger should be taking you to intercession on behalf of. . .
Identify with the person we would be most angry with and plead their case before God, asking for mercy.

Numbers 14, Matthew 6, Psalm 23

Numbers 14 – Israel given a promise; the promises of God guarantee a fight between the promise and the fulfillment. 10 said we are like grasshoppers.
Caleb and Joshua said this is a setup by God. The 10 said let’s choose wisdom. Same facts, but different perspective. If you move in fear, you will be called wise, but you won’t move mountains. C & J chose to not rebel against God by failing to step into a promise.
The giant is our “bread.” v. 9

Matthew 6:11 give us this day our daily bread

Psalm 23 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

Certain spiritual nourishment you cannot get except in a battle with a giant. My strength comes from the battle.
C & J are not impressed by the size of the giants. Do not loose sight over the size of our God and the truth of our promise. Changing perspective according to what God said. This land of giants — that’s lunch. When through with lunch, we will move onto dinner.

Psalm 23 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies – richest most glorious food that you will ever eat in your life. Interaction, fellowship and the most delicious food. Jesus is at the table and we have a life-giving encounter with Him at this table in the presence of the enemy.

All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

God puts in the giant the food you need for the next season.

Joshua 1:5 As I was with Jesus, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. All those who come under your influence fall under this.
If you want to impact what you think about, change what you talk about.
You will make your way prosperous; many believers waiting on the Lord to make their way prosperous.
Manifestation of the Presence of God is to equip and enable me to confront things that Jesus would confront if He was in my shoes.
Be strong and courageous is something I can will my way into; if God is commanding me to do something, then He will help me do it. Keep eyes on Him. Stop being impressed by the size of my problem.
Your giant is your next meal. Give us this day our daily bread. God create the table in such a way that I am so overwhelmed by who’s at the table and what you put there for me to eat that I never again become impressed with the enemy who is watching.

Acts 10:38 God annointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God
was with Him.

God is looking for a generation who will look at the giant and say “You are my dinner.”

Pray for:

Supernatural gift of courage
Supernatural gift of perception where we see things as You see them.
We want to see the impossibilites of this life bow to the authority of Jesus, and we pray for this.
Ask for an unusual ability to recognize giant = dinner; to interpret when the enemy surrounds me, there must be a meal somewhere.
Holy Spirit rest on each of us so that we never again become impressed with the size of our problem.

A Woman’s Inner Journey Through COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Order, part 2

April 4, 2020

Another week of “writing for an hour” repeating itself on my Bullet Journal task list. . .

I was hopeful a week ago that our country and our state would be slowly getting back to a new “normal” this week. Or, if not this week, then before Easter weekend. Most of you are probably aware that the country is still under the “stay-at-home” for the rest of the month. I am not discouraged or panicked. I am however, looking forward to things starting to open up again.

Mid-week I decided to stop reading and listening to other inputs aside from the President’s Task Force updates and the Governor’s. I feel like that is the best decision for me right now.

Thankfully I am still working as is dear hubby. Even the few things I have to do for the church are continuing on, plus they are making some changes. It will be interesting to see where “we” are in another week.

Connecting with people digitally and/or virtually is interesting, but also very, very good when that is the only option. I am so grateful for technology that allows us all to do that. Right after I typed that I had a couple texts and a FB message ping through.

I am enjoying not needing to drive to and from work anymore and find myself feeling way less rushed and stressed because of it. I suppose I was reaching my threshhold for busyness before this all started.

Internally I am still encouraged and hopeful. I am not in denial about how difficult this is, has been and will be. I just expect it to all work out.

I find myself concerned about the comments I read on social media that are so incredibly negative, spiteful, malicious, and gossipy. It also concerns me that people are sharing “news” that is unsubstantiated. With our population descending into being less and less mentally well, I am concerned about those posts having dangerous affects on others. I do fully support the freedom we have to “speak,” but thinking before sharing feels like another one of the things we can do to protect the most vulnerable. Just sayin. . .

Something really fun that happened is that I applied for a job kind of on a whim a week or so before this whole thing escalated. Thursday night I had an email letting me know that I made it through from stage 1 to stage 1.5 — I am part of the 25% of the applicants who will be whittled down from for stage two. Fun and unexpected! It was challenging filling out the application because it required a lot more thought and input that a standard applicaton. I had decided to look at it as a fun opportunity to learn some things through the process. I hoped that I might have even the smallest chance at being offered the job. So, I feel like I have had a win already!

Finally, I was chatting on the phone with a friend this week and was inspired by our combined suspicious imaginations, so I am going to pop off of here and get some fiction scenes typed up.
~staying at home, on the Indiana prairie

A Woman’s Inner Journey Through COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Order

I am supposed to be writing, but I keep finding other things to do. I have had a task in my Bullet Journal to write for an hour every day this week, but did not follow through.

So after I wrote that last sentence, I got up to make coffee. . . CRACK ON!!!

For fun food for my mind, I have been reading a mystery series set in a small town in MN, centering around a woman who owns a bakery specializing in cookies, at this point in the series. She has a married sister who lives in the town; the sister’s husband is local law enforcement. Her mom also lives in town. Currently she has two love interests who are both very different from each other.

I really like that setting and the clean storyline AND that she sprinkles cookie recipes into her stories, also.

For this trying-to-be-low-carb-and-hoping-to-some-day-be-keto woman, those cookie recipes present a slight problem with cravings. I have noticed however the keto items I have been baking/ making lately, taste pretty good these days. Cutting way back on sugar and on carbs that come from junk food, breads, grains, etc., has its benefits.

The COVID-19 Pandemic is disruptive to a measure, but I am still able to work part time and hubby is also working per usual. I make it a point to watch the Taskforce updates so that I can hear the truth and the facts directly from the “experts.” Otherwise, I listen to an AM Radio station out of Chicago for political commentary from an admittedly conservative viewpoint.

Because I have been working remotely for a few years now, though not exclusively, I am familiar with and comfortable with the tools required for that. A bit of a challenge and a new learning adventure is an add-in we are implementing. Should be fun getting it up and running. And who would have ever suspected that I would be THE IT department anywhere besides my home school Kingdom. All those times when I was troubleshooting my own issues at home have paid off in helping me to be more confident than I would be about tackling some minor IT issues.

I am sad about the cancelled and postponed events, especially for high school and college seniors. Such a bummer to invest so much time and not have the gratification of walking the walk.

This just in, I was just browsing Facebook instead of writing. . .how easily I am distracted.

I. NEVER. BROWSE. FACEBOOK. INSTAGRAM – YES. FACEBOOK, NOT REALLY. EVER.

LOL. Word just tried to add numbering formatting to this document because of my use of periods above. And I think I will title this “A Woman’s Inner Journey Through COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Order.” Is it truth or fiction? Only my hairdresser knows. No wait. . . she doesn’t know because I cannot go to her and have her wash my hair and trim me up and coif me beyond recognition, but in a way that is definitely attractive (thanks, Rainman). But I digress.

About my inner world, which I should probably write about if I want my title to be legit – it is in a peaceful and calm state and has been almost the entire time. It has been ruffled by thoughts about people rioting and looting at grocery stores – TP, eggs, milk, and every item that I really, really, really need; by actually being in the grocery store and seeing some bare shelves; by wondering if people are listening to the completely false information out there and acting on that information; and finally by the unknown about how long we have to stay-at-home and what our country will be like when we arrive at that point.

The rest of the time, I keep turning to God in prayer and reminding myself of the things that I absolutely know about Him and His character that are true. I suppose it’s a good thing that we (He and I) have been working these past few months on confronting my extreme aversion to pain and suffering. Ya know — when you get right down to the question of “will I still view God as good, as loving, as kind in the midst of pain and suffering?” I don’t like to go there in my thoughts, but I feel myself surrendering more and more to surrender and to believing that yes, He is the same no matter what the circumstances, and that WHEN I go through pain and suffering, He will be the same.

I just used the feature in Word where you can magnify/zoom in. What a blessing that feature it to my old eyes.

Anyhoo, I think this C-19 Pandemic keeps the reality that other than controlling myself (on a good day, as Danny Silk says), everything else is out of my control. So I get to moment by moment, almost, relax my grip and just try to enjoy the adventure of this historic time in which we are living.

I also believe it would be best to dream and to plan for a better future; I so appreciate Cy Wakeman’s “Ditch the Drama” strategy of if you are going to imagine an outcome/make up a narrative, why not imagine an amazing and fantastic one? That allows you to keep your peace, to keep your love turned on and to look for creative solutions.

Another way of thinking about it is to be thankful for what I do have instead of complaining, arguing, panicking, negatively reacting about what I do not have. Pollyanna had it right, actually. And personally I would rather spend my time full of hope and expectation of good for the future than the alternative.

Just had a funny short conversation with someone here in my hunker-down spot. I said, “my biggest fear is that you will forget that you have borrowed my cell phone charging cord and take it with you to work, leaving me without one at all.” Hyperbole, much? That is most definitely not my biggest fear (we covered that above) nor is it really a fear. What I should have said is that I am a selfish person who does not want you to borrow my cell phone charging cord because it might inconvenience me at some point. Wow, let it go, girl. [figuratively prying my fingers off of my cell phone charging cord]

I have easily surpassed the hour goal I set for myself for writing. Look at that. It has been fun and quite easy, as it turns out. I may not be interesting, but that was not part of my goal.

 

~prying my fingers loose, on the Indiana prairie

 

it happened last December

turns out that rewriting “blog” in my bullet journal more than 31 times was not enough to prompt me to do so.

hence, here i am, late again.

December was fantastic fun, which at the time felt like it was flying by, despite my real efforts to slow myself and enjoy the journey. i am thankful for all the times of connecting with the special people in my life. were the month sixty days long, it would NOT be enough time to fit everything into it.

highlights for me were spending time with Mom, G and my sister along with our people celebrating His birth and then our people being together again celebrating His birth. does a mom’s heart good to overflowing.

i said it out loud how much i do not like when they all leave. i understand that it is right and what we raised them to do. i am thankful and happy that each one is moving forward as a responsible, maturing, loving person. i really do not want to live with ten other people for the rest of me life – do i? but none of that makes the leaving less sad and painful.

leavings, be they of this world or to eternity, are bittersweet. even now my stomach churns and tears form behind my eyes. i miss you all so much. parting truly is such sweet sorrow.

ahead of me in 2020 are more leavings, some anticipated and some yet to be realized. i am comforted by His Presence and peace that is beyond all that I understand in my intellect even now as I look ahead to them.

may our vision this year be 2020 Kingdom vision. may our whole bodies, souls and spirits be save, healed, delivered, transformed and renewed.

~remembering December on the Indiana prairie

When saying “no” is saying “yes”

after 50-some years here on planet earth, i have learned to listen to my gut. at this stage of life, that means to listen and to ponder and to consider and to seek counsel and to pray and to talk about it and to delay a decision until there is peace.

my gut told me at the beginning of the year that what i had originally said “yes” to should have been a “no.” so i listened to my gut, pondered, considered, talked with dear hubby, prayed and talked some more with others. we decided to keep saying “yes” with some caveats. and we delayed making any other decision.

fast forward to a week away from the event, and my gut has not stopped talking with me about my “yes” needing to be a “no.” so we revisited the conversation. turns out we are both hearing the same thing – “don’t do it.”

i have more peace now than I have had in a long time. i feel free and light and overjoyed.

because this decision impacts our friends, it is not easy nor fun. we have disappointed our dear friends.

that being said, as far as we are able, we are upholding our responsibilities. we want to restore relationship and maintain healthy and thriving friendships with this group of friends.

hre on this side of saying “no,” i can see that i am saying “yes” to some other things. the mess and the clean-up will mean that we are in communication with our friends more often. it means that i will be battling negative imaginary narratives.

but, oh the joy and peace on this side of the “no.” and saying “yes” to that is priceless.

 

~still learning, on the Indiana prairie

Core Values for a Meaningful and Fulfilling Life, or How to be a Super Star Volunteer

I need these reminders as we head into Tech week.

And now, in no particular order:

• Your real life is your own to guard and to steward intentionally and purposefully. Even though you might not realize it just yet, in retrospect you will not want to leave a trail behind you full of details and photos for the whole world to view at the convenience of a search and a click. Because you cannot see the end from the beginning, wisdom says remember that not everything or even most things belong on social media.
• It. Is. Never. Ever. Ever. About. You. Never. Ever.
• That being said, remember that you do get to control someone. Actually is it your responsibility. Wait for it. . . on a good day, the person that you get to control is y. o. u. And only YOU.
•  The good news is that you are a powerful person. So get rid of the lies that you believe about being a victim. You always get to choose how you respond – always. Monitor you own emotions, thoughts and actions. Whatever is true. . . think on those things.
• While you are controlling you, include time to renew yourself. If you do not take care of you, you will be unable to help others.
• Know yourself. You are a special and unique person. When you begin to know yourself, who you really are, you will realize the importance and value of the one in front of you becoming who he/she really is.
• Always choose to go lower. Ask “how can I help?” Recognize and value the privilege of embracing the cross is saying “no” to what you would naturally do, so that the one in front of you can do what he/she would naturally do. Never reject the opportunity to die to self; you will only feel pain in the places where you are not already dead.
• God first. Others second. Self third. Be third.
•  Be quick to forgive, to ask for forgiveness, to apologize, to clean up your mess.
• Choose your ‘tude. Choose positivity. Find the gold worth fighting for in the one in front of you.
• Practice faithfulness.
• Listen > talk. Ask questions for clarity. When you speak, speak the truth in love.
• Think critically. Think like the leader. Ask yourself, “how can I make this situation better?” Then, lend a hand.
• Get outside your silo and discover the bigger picture.
• Find something no one else wants to do and own it.
• Find ways to serve; take initiative.
• Don’t go boneless; reject passivity.
• Ask yourself, “who is wearing the hat now?” Then be an exemplary follower.
• Plan a solution. Plan time in your calendar to plan. Hold your plans loosely.
• Pray and rely on God’s strength.
• Adventure = Faith. Faith = Risk.
• Be “famous” for love. Love looks like something.
• Honor, respect and love, especially when you disagree.
• With each person, seek peace always. The one in front of you cannot be your enemy unless you choose for them to be. And even if they were your enemy, love your enemy and everyone else.

Speak Life

i keep hearing the same theme. oft shrouded by various subplots, i hear “this is who i am.”

the minutest particle of each person’s being shouts this from the moment formed in God’s mind.

and all of Hell sets itself against true identity.

the messages spoken to and over us from conception shape and form, often mishape and distort, each one’s perception of identity.

at this moment in history, creativity crazily births fever-pitched ideas and definitions of identity, all the while, the Enemy of our souls wages war against each one — division, hate, name calling, pride, repaying evil for evil.

bleak and scary stuff, really.

ready for the good news, friends? our Enemy does not truly create, but imitates, altering the original. which means

God

is

working

even

now,

revealing

true

identity

to

each

one

of

us.

the hard part is tapping into what He has said and is saying about me and about you. with so many voices speaking the lies of the Enemy, focused effort is required to seek and to know and to believe the truth about identity.

we are not each other’s enemies. the Enemy is our enemy.

i heard someone i respect repeat one of his life rules again today. he said something like he purposes to never discuss a problem with anyone who is not part of the redemptive solution to the problem.

we are each one a solution to helping each other discover real identity. so i am sharing this with you.

what would happen if we committed to two things this year?

1. while remembering that the power of life and death resides in the tongue, I purpose to speak life in every situation or to not speak at all.
2. I purpose to discuss a problem only with the person or people who is/are a part of the redemptive solution.

and if we stretched that to include the written word, what would happen?

I’m in. Are you?

 

~all in, on the Indiana prairie

Advent Asides

I freely admit, even proclaim that I thoroughly enjoy this season of celebration. If that is not where you find yourself this Christmas season, I feel sad for you. And you may not want to read this post — just sayin’. Call it a public service spoiler alert.

Over my life’s journey the Christmas season has had many, many faces and expressions. As a matter of fact, today marks the eve of my Dad’s shocking suicide, 29 years ago. I am continuing to heal from that life-changing event. Some losses are never gotten over.

Despite that particular loss during the Christmas season, I find that each year I have more joy and more hope and more peace. I believe that while you cannot change or control what happens to you, you can change and/or control how you ultimately respond. Practicing Thanksgiving with regard to all of my life and being willing to sit with and to process pain are learned habits which are serving me well — not stuffing problems nor sugar-coating them, but seeing them for what they are, and then finding the thing or things for which to be thankful related to them. 

On the joy side of the Christmas season, I also practice Thankfulness for the multitudinous blessings in my life. For me, Thanksgiving and Christmas are perfectly poised in the calendar; the Thanksgiving holiday reminds me to view life through the lens of Thankfulness, all of life, past and present and future. 

What am I looking forward to this Christmas season?

Time off from school and work = more time for slowing, for resting, for spending time with the people I love the most, for serving and loving others, for focusing on the Reason for the Season. 

The joy of giving to others.

And what are you looking forward to this Christmas season?

~all-in-celebrating, on the Indiana prairie

And then came June

what a great month is June! summer is fully here, and in Indiana that means any spring, summer or fall weather is fair game. just enjoy the ever-changing weather journey.

one excellent addition to my life of late is a gift from my dear husband – a cruiser style 7-speed bike. yes! our youngest and I have taken many a short jaunts together since the gift. I have missed very much the joy of riding a bike.

it also seems that I am in something of a “throw-back” mode in life, as I find old dreams and relationships and ideas receiving new life breathed into them. another ocean of joy for which I am thankful.

not all is sunshine and roses in life, of course. our kiddos each have challenges of his/her own, which then cause pain in mom’s heart. if we don’t love, we don’t feel pain. so, that’s just as it should be, right? personally one bit of news that is “inconclusive” hangs in an unresolved state until later in July. choosing to simply look at the facts without attaching any emotion to it at present is an on-going challenge.  it could be that things will turn out fabulously for all involved, so if I am going to imagine something, I will choose that narrative!

this morning I realized once again that I have slipped slightly down the slope of reacting to the story of my life instead of taking up my role as the lead actor. time to step into my story, write it, live it, love it. maybe time to write some people out of my story and some people into my story.

~enjoying the journey, on the Indiana prairie

Addition

It has been glorious and happy and fun.

November has arrived and so has some of the pain of change.

I am embracing this new season of life, this season of being a “mother-in-love” and a mother, both. Amazing, expanding, life-giving AND an opportunity to do battle with every foul lie and accusation my enemy can cannonball me with.

Thanks be to God, that He is ever interceding on my behalf, that He goes before and behind me, that He has and is preparing the way for me to walk in truth, love, joy and peace.

Make up the BEST, most positive narrative, with God in it! He is that good and that faithful.

 

~experiencing growing pains, on the Indiana prairie