Look before you Leap; Friday Five

Hello from your Fifth Friday Five team, will smama and Songbird~It's Leap Day!!

Whether you're one of the special few who have a birthday only once every four years, or simply confused by the extra day on the calendar, everyone is welcome to join in and play our Leap Year Friday Five.

Tell us about a time you:

1. Leapt before looked; Some guy I dated, I'm sure. Nuff said, don't you think.

2. Leapt to a conclusion; I am constantly learning not to do this.

3. Took a Leap of Faith; Answered the call from God to be a Minister. (Sometimes I call getting out of the bed in the morning a leap of faith..)

4. Took a literal Leap; How many do you want to know about? And would you like to know the results of said leaps? It isn't a pretty sight, and my body still reminds me of those leaps.

5. And finally, what might you be faced with leaping in the coming year? MMM Can't tell you just yet, but when I can, it will be right here on this blog.

Bonus: A friend told me yesterday, that since this day doesn't really exist, we should all take the day off. But sadly there is no day off for me today. So how about you what do you do with the leap year day? Frankly my leapster is leaped out.

Feel free to leap over any of the questions if you don't feel like answering them, says will smama,

More on Monday's post re Hate

Here is the link to Monday's post about the AME church whose doors were painted with racial slurs.

Yesterday the paper noted that it was decided by officials that it was not a hate crime, instead it was just a prank or vandalism done by some juveniles. (See the Florence Times article). However they are clear that their investigation is not finished.

In his editorial, the editor said this "Even if the the incident was intended as an ugly prank, it's difficult to view it as anything other than a hate crime."

Several things have come to my mind about this incident. First if the doors of our churches were painted with some slurs or symbols that put down Christianity, how would we respond?

Secondly in any prank or any sarcastic remark there is usually an edge of the negative, whether the person owns it or not. How would we help the person with the underlying negativism that is there?

Thirdly How are we the churches in the community to respond to this particular event and others that may occur as well to places of worship? One of the things that was said of the church during Hitler's reign of Germany was that the church stood by and did nothing and said nothing to stop the Holocaust and the other abuses his regime incurred. Will we do the same or be willing to speak the truth in love?

One of the things that stands out about Jesus was he was not afraid to speak the truth in love. Paul in Ephesians 4:14 -15 writes this; "Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ."

Leviticus 19:17-18 reads this way: "You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord." Jesus picks up these words in Matthew 22:37-39: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment and the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Instead of letting hate dominate our thinking and our actions let's chose to love first the Lord our God and then to love our neighbor as ourself; including whoever spray painted these words on the church doors.

It is interesting, I am preaching Sunday on the Leviticus passage.

Hate can and does Live on

Down the road from our church someone painted words on a church
door of a mainly all black congregation. The pictures shows them.
They are words you would expect to see during the civil rights
movement. They are words that reflect hate in one's heart and in
one's hands. You don't think you would see them in this day and age. Maybe in private conversations, the words are used. It is sad to see those used once more toward people who are a different color. It is sad to see them used on the door of a church.
What would we do if they were painted on our doors of our congregations or something just as derogatory? How would we respond?

The members of this church responded with love. They prayed for the person(s). "I still don't bear ill will toward him or them," one of the members said. "I'd like to invite him to church, to fellowship with us."

The men of the church hoped that whoever did this did so more out of boredom than hatred.

"I know there can't be that much hate around still," the member said.

"It's 2008," Alexander said. "Back in 1966, when we first built it, I might have expected to see this, but it's 2008."

Here is the link to the news article in the Florence Times.

What do you think can there still be that much hate around? Can hate live on?

What is to be our response to hate?

Matthew 5:43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor^[h] and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies^[i] and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (New International Version from Bible Gateway.com)

I believe Love is a greater than hate, heals hate, and offers us hope beyond hate.

I Corinthians 13: 4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Today: Flowers

Today, I got flowers. They came from 1800Flowers.com. Never have gotten flowers from them before. Mom sent them to me cause I was sick. What a nice surprice. Well it came at a good time, our sweet black kitty, Midnight got ran over this morning. That's the third cat we have lost on this road. The kids saw her dead in the road and were really upset, but they wanted to bury her. Bob saved her until they got back this afternoon. I kept expecting her to wake up. Dadgumit, three of them. I told Bob the next time somebody says something about Tygger being fat, I am going to tell them she's fat so she won't get over the fence and get run over. The kids and Bob had a sweet burial for her this afternoon. They came back and told me about it and told me they had said prayers for her. And of course they wanted a new kitty. We had to tell them no more new kitties for now. Well lo and behold there was another box of flowers on the front poarch. i thought it was a mistake, but it turns out that mom, my sister and my niece sent them. It sure made the kids feel better. They are really pretty and smell good too.

Hey mom, Denise, and Hannah thank you so much for the pretty flowers! What perfect timing. Now if I can just get over this flu stuff.

Silence is Golden. . . .

Or so they say. I have had a couple of days of quiet, especially after the kids went back to school. Its a bit unusual for me since having kids, my days are pretty noise filled, sound filled, and voice filled.

Today I watched the movie "Into Great Silence" in the midst of a quiet day. It is the movie we are going to discuss at revgalblogpals for Feb along with the book " An Infinity of Hours." by Nancy Klien MacGuire. I wasn't sure what it was going to be like to watch a film in silence for three hours, and yet it was well worth the time. It actually didn't seem like three hours. I loved the beauty of the scenery. It seemed as if we weren't just watching, but were partaking in the silence, the prayers, the meditative work, and rituals. I say we, because Bob watched it with me. It was comforting to me to watch this DVD. Not sure why, maybe the repetition of their tasks and lives, the simplicity, the prayers, the night office.

When I was in seminary I took a course in the Sociology of Religion. Part of what we did in this course were to go to different churches, different denominations. One of the places we went was down to Bardstown, KY to the Abbey of Gethsemani, a Trappist Monastery, where Thomas Merton was a Monk. When we went, I was told that I as a woman could go in to the area hidden from the monks view to watch their worship, but I could not go in and talk with the monks. I had to sit outside most of the time and wait for the guys to come back and tell me about their experience. I must say, after watching this video, I feel like I now have experienced what I could not back then.

Bob and I talked about what kind of person it would take to live in such a setting, we both used the word disciplined to describe that person. I told him, I don't think I am that kind of person. But I will say there are things I can learn from the Monks and their daily lives and prayers.

Silence is golden, because it does offer a way to hear God more clearly. This is the verse they used over and over in the film; "And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still, small voice" (I Kings 19:11-12).

At Taize they say this of Silence: "Silence means leaving to God what is beyond my reach and capacity. A moment of silence, even very short, is like a holy stop, a sabbatical rest, a truce of worries."

Mother Theresa is quoted as saying; "God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer."

Psalm 62:5 says: "My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him."

I grew up not learning much about being silent before God. I grew up with what I would call a "noisy religion". prayer is talking. Reading the bible as a devotional can be noisy, but doesn't have to be. The worship service is noisy. When I began to learn about being silent before God, it was very freeing, and became part of my life, my prayer time, bible reading time, and worship. However, with kids, my life has gotten noisy again. Sometimes it really is hard to stop, be quiet and know that he is God. This film showed me the importance, but also the beauty of it.

Doors opening for women who want to preach

Last week the Florence Times, our newspaper did a week long series on Front Lines of Faith. On Thursday they ran an article on Doors Opening for women who want to preach. If you read the article it talks about a women who serves as an Associate Minister, a female Rector and a woman who serves as Co Pastor of a non-denominational church. This is a big step for this paper considering the denomination with the most members in this area is C o C who don't believe in Women in Ministry at all.

I am proud to read about my sisters here in town. I think a lot of Joy, and she has done a bang up job with The Bridge, the contemporary service at First United Methodist. Don't know the other two ministers although I have heard of the Episcopal Priest. There are some others of us who got left out, like yours truly, but that's okay for this time.

Here's the article

And here is a link to the whole series on the Front Lines of Faith, including a video of Joy Morgan.

I thought they did a good job writing about the different denominations and non denominational churches. They also wrote quite a bit about youth and young people and their influence on the church.

And there are women who don't just want to preach, they are preaching! Preach on! The Doors are wide open in the Kingdom of God!

Time Flies when . . .

Oh my it really has been a long time since I have blogged. Well there goes one of my New Year's resolution to blog more regular. Sorry.

I appreciate those who wrote to me about missing my posts.

I hate to admit it, I have been under a great deal of stress that I can't blog about yet. And I can't blog about it for awhile. But when I can I will.

At the same time the Fly Lady has been keeping me busy with shining my sink, wiping and swishing, and decluttering. And boy has it paid off. I can see the floor in my room and the top of my dresser. And a real "biggy" is that the "hot spots", those places where paper, and junk just automatically accumulate have been put under some control. Kids' papers still get put out from their book bags, but we are doing better about what to keep and what not to keep. And Bob is doing better about not just laying stuff down just anywhere. He even helps me keep the Kitchen sink shining and wiping around in there.

We added one more thing since we have young kids at the house, the Fly Lady has a friend, called The House Fairy. The House Fairy now comes to my house to check on the kid's rooms. Now the beds are made, clothes picked up, trash in the trash can, and toys picked up without an argument. Imagine that. The idea is, the kids never know when the house fairy is going to come inspect their room. And if she comes and finds the room clean then its possible they might get a prize. If she finds it messy and bed unmade well no price. Where was the House Fairy when I was growing up? What a wonderful concept. So if you have you got little kids, I suggest you check her out. My kids love her, and I do too.

As someone said, you do get tired of her emails. I don't mind the reminders, its all the other emails.

I have been applying some of her decluttering tactics to my office. I threw out a whole bag of papers, magazines, etc the other day. I just haven't gotten the organization down yet.

In the meantime, Bob got the head crud and is getting over it. I got the flu this weekend. I don't wish it on anybody.

And so how about you? How goes it in your world?

That's no lady, that's the fly lady

And I am now taking flying lessons from her. Some of you have already gone through the beginning steps and are well on your way being able to fly freely. I can't remember if I read about the Fly Lady on one of your blogs or in Newsweek or somewhere, but thanks to whoever did write about her. I like her permission giving, and affirming attitude. Who would have thought that a shiny clean sink could be the perfect start to the whole act of decluttering, the Fly Lady did, and now I have a shiny sink. So the decluttering has begun in my house and my husband has even gotten into it, by cleaning out his pants. Bravo. He even made sure the bathtub was clean after the kids got through with their baths last night. Yea! I had told him what I was doing. If you recall I had written a post about my need to declutter. I had already started decluttering some things, but not ever really knowing how, it was a haphazard job and I found myself wanting to avoid certain areas. But not anymore, I now have the courage, the no how and the way to do it. I am not going to be able to do everything she says to do the way she says to do it, and that's okay. I'll do what I can when I can, I got to work too. Okay, got to run, the Fly Lady is telling me its time for more flying lessons. See you when I get through with this one.

The Year of the Bible

This is the Year of the Bible for St. John UMC.

God has challenged us to read through the Bible in a Year.

In order to do that we gave out a Reading Plan for a year.

We offered Disciple Bible Study on Sunday nights which takes you through the Bible.

We offered on Wednesday nights a Bible Study to follow through the Bible reading plan.

I am preaching sermons that go through the Bible for the year.

I made a plan that everyone would be on the same sheet of music, and that the sermons would fall in line with the readings. You know what they say about best laid plans of Mice and men/women. I forgot about the orientation session of the Disciple Bible Study and then the next session introducing the Bible. So the Disciple Bible Study group is just starting their reading of Genesis. We had a death in the church and the visitation fell on Wednesday night, so we delayed the start of their study. They start this week with a study of the first readings in Genesis.

I am already through the second set of readings as far as preaching goes.

My point in keeping these all together was that I was teaching, preaching and reading. Umm help I think I need another teacher or something or a reprieve or something. Any suggestions?

God is this your plan? You got any ideas, God?

Fridy Five:Read Any Good Books Lately?

REVHROD at revgalblogpals brings us this thoughtful yet challenging Friday Five. The website promoting this piece of art says, "For the first time, the worlds most influential religious texts are brought together and presented on the same level, their coexistence acknowledged and celebrated”. The shelf is made of reclaimed wood that contains seven religious books. The designers have put them – literally – on the same level.

Well, pish posh! I think that some books ARE better than others! How about you?

1. What book have you read in the last six months that has really stayed with you? Why? To be honest, I had major problems with concentration and memory the last six months, so not much stayed with me from my reading. So I'll just share what I read that I can remember I read. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia, The Daring Book for Girls, The Big Book of Girl Stuff, Blue Shoes and Happiness (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Book 7), Friends, Lovers, Chocolate: An Isabel Dalhousie Mystery, The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs, and a lot of children's books. Can you tell I like Alexander McCall Smith's writings?) Did I mention that I read books on Natural Church Development, Now Discover Your Strengths, and the Bible?
2. What is one of your favorite childhood books? The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy, The Wizard of Oz books, The Encyclopedia, World Book's Child Craft, any book I could get from the library and the Children's book of Bible stories.
   
3. Do you have a favorite book of the Bible? yes Do tell! Psalms
   
4. What is one book you could read again and again? The Bible, The Harry Potter books and The Chronicles of Narnia.
   
5. Is there a book you would suggest for Lenten reading? I don't. What is it and why?

And because we all love bonus questions, if you were going to publish a book what would it be? The Daring Book for Female Ministers. Who would you want to write the jacket cover blurb expounding on your talent? Barbara Brown Taylor. She would write that she would have never left the church had she read this book first, instead she would be planting a new church! And you too can be a Daring Female Minister. Abi, where were you in the midst of my Pastoring crisis? You new female ministers pay heed, and you too can be a Daring Female Minister.

Breath

I wrote this on Wednesday but my computer froze and was unable to post this until today, Thursday.

Tonight is visitation at the funeral home for one of my members who died of Emphysema. She inherited her condition from her family, but complicated it by smoking at one time in her life. She was in ICU for quite a while, and I had been visiting with her and her family since we got back from vacation. They had her hooked up to every machine, line, iv possible. She struggled most of the time and didn't like all that, I wouldn't either. It came to the point that the Doctors began to talk with the family about that all important question of beginning to remove meds., and life support. Her living will stated she would have wanted that so it was done. After every thing was removed she was breathing on her own, her numbers looked better, and she was peaceful. They did keep her on pain medication to keep her comfortable. The family was less anxious, but the Doctors had been honest with them it could be a few hours or a few days. It was a few hours and she took her last breath. Tomorrow we bury her.

It got me to thinking about breath and breathing. I don't have lung problems, its not in my family. I have two other members who have lung problems due to family genes. I will admit I did smoke in my younger days. I wanted to be cool, it seemed to help with the stress of late night studies. And then I was hooked. It was hard to quit and for a long time after I quit, there were times I wanted one. But I have not started back ever and that wanting a cigarette has gone away. Now why can't I do the same with food and compulsive eating, I am not sure, but this post is about breath and breathing, and the other is for another day and time.

It is interesting I do often find myself not breathing, holding my breath, and taking shallow breaths. I do that a lot, especially when I am stressed. I have found I have to be mindful of my breathing. I used to meditate regular with deep breathing as part of that time. I have gotten away from that, but I am wondering if I need to bring it back into my time of prayer and meditation. As I have been de-cluttering, it has made me wonder how the weight of all the clutter on me makes it hard for me to breath. As I have kept my time usage journal, it has made me wonder how much my busyness keeps me from breathing properly. And as I look at how little I exercise these days, I wonder how little good oxygen I am taking in. And I wonder about my weight what effect that has on my breathing. Lots of questions, that again lead to being mindful, being aware of myself and my most natural thing I do, breathing.

I used to have a prayer taped to my computer that was about breathing in the Holy Spirit, breathing in the good and breathing out the bad, etc. In the two moves, I have no idea where it is. I think I'll have to find it and tape it up again or carry it around with me to remind me to breath....

Dust if you Must

Since I have posting about resolutions, time wasters, time drainers and decluttering. I thought I would share this with you all. You might have already seen it, but I thought I would send it on anyway. It appears as I have been decluttering the house and my office that there is a lot of dust that was hidden. Maybe that was the purpose for the clutter after all. My husband doesn't think to dust, I don't take the time to dust, but put a clothe or one of those feather dusters in our children's hand and they will dust away and then get in a fight over who dusted what and that they wanted to do that piece of furniture. Fine I quit. Mom she's being mean to me.

So without further adieu; Dust if you Must

Remember...a layer of dust protects the wood beneath it. !! ?(OR) ?Dust is God's protective covering for fine furniture! ?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Dusting

'A house becomes a home when you can write
'I love you' on the furniture.' AMEN !!
And my house is sure a home!!
I can't tell you how many countless hours
that I have spent CLEANING!
I used to spend at least 8 hours every weekend
making sure things were just perfect --
'in case someone came over.'

Then I realized one day that no-one came over;
they were all out living life and having fun!
Now, when people visit, I find no need to
explain the 'condition' of my home.
They are more interested in hearing about
the things I've been doing while I was
away living life and having fun.

If you haven't figured this out yet,
please heed this advice

Life is short. Enjoy it!
Dust if you must,
but wouldn't it be better to
paint a picture or write a letter,

or do some Bible study,
spend time with a friend
bake a cake or

plant a seed, go play golf,
ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must, but there's not much time,
with rivers to swim and mountains to climb,
music to hear, songs to sing and books to read,
friends to cherish and life to lead.

Dust if you must, but the world's out
there with the sun in your eyes,
the wind in your hair, a flutter of snow,
a shower of rain.
This day will not come around again.

Dust if you must, but bear in mind,
old age will come and it's not kind.
And when you go -- and go you must --
you, yourself will make more dust!

I think I'll skip the dusting part of this.....

De-cluttering

One of the things I have been reading about a lot in relation to making resolutions is the importance of de-cluttering. Most post will say if you want to be happy or successful for productive you need to de-clutter your space.

I have always had a cluttered office, but I could usually find what I was looking for.

My house has always been cluttered, but it really has gotten worse with the three kids, and less time spent on tidying up.

My car has become a mess, my kids keep telling me I need to clean it out, and they are right. Its like a second office.

My kids have been seeing this commerical on tv for a purse that you can organize everything in, and they keep telling me I need to buy it. They are probably right, my purse is even a mess.

My sister on the other hand is neat and tidy. When we shared a room growing up, she put the dressers up between us so she didn't have to see my messy side. Her house is still neat and tidy except for her teenage daughter's room. It looks like the way my side used to look during my teen years.

I have begun to declutter my desk and file things from 07 to make room for 08 files. But I need to go through my books and get rid of old ones that I don't need anymore. And I need to clean out the files of papers I don't need anymore. I would say this is going to take me some time to do this.

And I need to declutter my house of books, old clothes, toys, things, you name it, papers. It is amazing how much mail we get that is just plain useless. Ya got to file 13 it right then and there, cause if you don't it grows on you. I figure it will take a year or more to go through and declutter everything. But I am guess it is also a lifelong work. I figure that this isn't just about living simply, or having a Martha Stewart house, this is also a spiritual matter. And maybe I wrote this before, that Decluttering the "thing" does have to do with becoming less consumeristic and less being owned by the things. I think also there is a decluttering that goes on inside of me as well as I declutter the things around me. Perhaps as I declutter it will creat more space for the Holy in my life. Perhaps it will show me the treasure that God created called me. Who knows where this will lead.

I will say for those who wondered, I have started a journal of how I spend my time. I'll let you know what I Learn.

A Christmas present for me?

Ah how nice, thank you.

My husband snores. I mean really snores, but not as bad as my dad. You could hear my dad all the way to the other side of the house. But there are times it is so bad, I have to go sleep on the couch. He doesn't have narcolepsy or a sleep disorder or need the surgery you can have for snoring, He just snores. He got an idea for a Christmas present for me, thinking it would help his snoring, and my sleep problem. He got me one of those sound therapy sound machines with 10 "soothing sounds".

It is interesting to me that he is sleeping better, is not snoring as badly and is more rested since we got the machine. I on the other hand am having to adjust to the "soothing sounds". I grew up with open windows and could sleep with all the country noises we had around us. But that was a long time ago. Last night was the first night I was able to sleep through the night. Lets hope that tonight I can do the same, I think I found the sound that works for me.

I do appreciate the gift, but it makes me wonder who this was really for; sort of like the birthday present, the GPS that is still in his car. Tee hee.

And besides that the kids like it, and they go in our bedroom and change the sounds to listen to them. I may have it set on one sound, but when I get ready to to bed, they may have it on something else. I like sounds of the waves, and the rainfall. I got in there last night and it was a thunderstorm. That is not restful.

Friday Five: Those New Year Resolutions

Sally over at revgalblogpals brings us this Friday Five:
Well it had to be didn't it, love them or hate them I bet you've been asked about New Year resolutions. So with no more fuss here is this weeks Friday Five;

1. Do you make New Year resolutions? Not anymore.

2. Is this something you take seriously, or is it a bit of fun? A bit of both

3. Share one goal for 2008. To quit wasting time so much.

4. Money is no barrier, share one wild/ impossible dream for 2008. Money no object, adopt another child.

5. Someone wants to publish a story of your year in 2008, what will the title of that book be? "Not that again"

Those things that suck our energy

When I was writing my last post on time wasters, I came upon an article about those things that drain our energy. Lifehack called it the 7 Energy Sinkholes. Now I grew up in Florida and have seen many a sinkhole. I have seen where they swallowed houses whole. I have seen where they have swallowed up streets. It can happen quickly and without warning. There is no way of knowing ahead of time. One of the things they are talking about with the drought in Florida that they could possibly see quite a few sinkholes. But what about the Energy sinkholes in our lives? The article hit a nerve in me because I think it is something we as ministers have to deal with constantly in our work.



The article at Lifehack.org says the following; Energy sinkholes are situations that repeatedly drain your energy and stress you out. Unfortunately, it is often hard to see sinkholes since they rarely cause a drain all at once. Instead they slowly leech away at your lifeforce until your stressed, depressed and apathetic.



Here are the big seven that may be stealing from you right now:
1 - Disorganization


2 - Poor Diet and Lack of Exercise


3 - Problem Contacts


4 - Focusing on Your Weaknesses


5 - Squeaky Hinges


6 - Blog/E-Mail/Facebook Addiction


7 - Pleasing People



Ouch, Ouch and double ouch.


But we could add to these;


Too many commitments


Being controlling


unfinished tasks


negative people


doing things that are not our passion or our strength


meetings for meetings sake


dealing with a lot of sickness, death and crisis sitations


Fear


Resentment


Unresolved grief


worry


negative thoughts about our selves


shame


Hopelessness and/or despair


Guilt


Being overresponsible


Perfectionism


Too high of expectations


overwork


Too many people around you


Too few people around you


financial issues



The list could go on. And no wonder the energy drinks are big sellers. Maybe its important to know the things that drain you, so you don't end up sunk into some sinkhole either. Maybe it is important to know what are your energy boosters are also, so you are getting re-engerized and not depleted. I certainly don't want to be sunk in any sinkhole.

I think that along with keeping up with how I spend my time, I am going to keep up with what drains me as well as what energizes me.

Time Wasters

In my post on the new year, I mentioned the matter of wasted time. I have been thinking about that more today. I have been asking myself, just what is it I waste my time on, and what do I need to do to change it.

Christianity today has a survey asking What is your biggest time waster?

• Rabbit trails in my sermon prep
• Getting lost in my own thoughts
• Phone calls and people interruptions
• Paperwork or administration
• Long, unnecessary meetings
• The internet
• Other

David Allen, Getting Things Done, Author said "You can't manage time, it just is. So "time management" is a mislabeled problem, which has little chance of being an effective approach. What you really manage is your activity during time, and defining outcomes and physical actions required is the core process required to manage what you do."

One book recommended keeping a journal of how you use your time in one week keeping track of it in 15 minute increments. Then they suggest you take a hard look at that list of doings and divide your activities into three categories:

• Daily Definites: things you absolutely have to do like drive to work, pick up the kids from school, etc.
• Distractions: computer backgammon, obsessively checking email, talking on the phone. Tell the truth.
• Goal-Oriented Actions: activities that contribute to the life you’re committed to creating.

If by chance you noticed that your goal-oriented actions are curiously absent from your daily doings, what is your prescriptive choice? What can you give up to make space for your real life to occur? Are some of your Distractions disguised as Daily Definites?

So before I say, that definitely certain things are my time wasters, I think I am going to keep a time journal and then review it as suggested. I think I am going to go back an read the "GTD" book and see what I need to use from it.

So what are your time wasters? Have you ever kept a Time Journal? And have you been successful applying the "GTD" principles to your life?

Happy Beginning to 2008

I was thinking about the making of new year resolutions. I realized, I have made them and not fulfilled them. And I keep making them. There is something about a beginning that gives us the resolve to start new, try change things, be better. And we certainly all know we can do better.

I have also, prayed the covenant prayer of John Wesley.

I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,

exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

thou art mine, and I am thine.

So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,

let it be ratified in heaven.

Amen.

I have found that helpful in setting a spiritual pattern. I like to use it at the start of the new year in worship. I have also been thinking of how much time I waste, and I am praying with God to not waste these days this year. I am praying to God to not let me waste my time I spend with my family this year. And not to waste my time with God. I am also aware that I have not always done a good job of taking care of this body that God gave me, this earthly temple. I am praying that I do a better job taking care of myself, my body, my health this year. And I have been thinking about how I don't always listen to God, I get myself going in so many ways, I just don't get still, close out the all the other things from my mind and stop and listen. I pray that I do a better job of stopping, centering, and listening to God. These are a few things I have been thinking about, and praying about. And these I covenant with God.

Last post of 2007

Here it is the end of 2007. Wow, I can't believe it. Wasn't it summer just a few months ago or something like that? It has been year of learning and growing and stretching myself. Everything I learned in Seminary well, almost everything seems to be obsolete these days. Now it seems like you have to have a degree in business administration, management, social work, pastoral care, preaching and etc. I have had to keep reading, going to seminars, attending conferences to learn the new ways of Pastoring. And I feel like I am still behind the curve.

I love watching my kids grow and learn and play. And even with that I have had to learn things about parenting. Learning doesn't stop does it? God help us if we choose to stop learning. My kids are learning things in school at their age that I didn't learn until later, and they are learning it in a different way. I can't help them with the new way so they are teaching me. All three are in dance, and well, I never had the opportunity to learn dance, so I just watch and clap and cheer. Kara is learning piano, and I did learn piano, so I have been able to help her with piano. They played softball and machine pitch ball, so I could help them with that since I was a good ball player. When we return, they will be playing in the community league basketball games. Uh I was pretty short, so this was not one of my forte, and I even broke a finger playing. I'll leave that one for the coaches.

We had a really good visit with my sister and mom. Now we are up in Columbus with son and family. I get to go visit with a friend this afternoon. Then we will see the new year in with John and Liz. Yea.

I wish you all a Happy New Year!

The itchies and playing cards

Well the shingles have turned into major itching spots. I have pain med but not itching med. It is quite uncomfortable. Could not sleep last night for all the itching. I almost took some of the pain med to put me out of my misery but opted not to. Finally fell asleep early this morning. I will now buy some itching meds. I cannot stand it. Somebody better put socks on my hands, so I don't make it worse.

We have been playing lots of cards with my mom. I have not won any games. This used to really bother me. I would get mad and huff off, sometimes even throw my cards everywhere. I was very competitive and had to win. In fact I was that way with any game I played and any sports I played. It was not a pleasant site to see in me, and people didn't like playing against me or with me. I have had to work on it a lot. I have to make choices in the middle of games that it was okay to lose. I had a mantra for awhile, it is okay to loose, you are here to be with the other people. But now I can play and loose every game and it doesn't matter, because I am enjoying being with the other people.

I have to do a genogram for the class I am taking on Healthy Family Systems. I have been interviewing my mom about her family and dad's side of the family. I asked her where I got the competitiveness from. She thought about it and remembered I used to play cards at my grandparents and that they were always competitive and that I probably learned some of it from them. I think it is also because I was insecure and wanted to be number one, not be a loser because I already felt like one inside. I hope that I can be competitive when I need to, but not in a bad way, but also enjoy the people I am with. And I hope I can keep liking myself and being comfortable within myself too.