Monday Meanderings for August 23

Bible Study:

• In the Eye of the Storm/ Lucado, Max
• One Year Bible (N.T. Portion)

Memory Verse:

• John 16:24 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
  "Until now you have asked for nothing in My name. Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be complete." [Note: He says "your" joy... my joy. Really? God cares about "my" joy and not just His or other people's. Does this mean that He really wants to do something about it when my heart is breaking?] {Click here for more thoughts on this verse.}

Husband Encouragement:

• Pray for him... out loud & in front of him.
• Give him lots of hugs.
• Flirt.
• Believe in him, & show it in the way I talk to him about his job search.
• Share the verse of the week with him. Then share how it encourages me about our situation.
• Thank him often for all the stuff he does around the house & for me.

Personal Goals:

• Exercise at least 4 days this week.
• Find time to RELAX (non-sleeping relaxation) each day. Do something that is fun and takes the pressure off of me for at least 30 minutes each day. Examples include: watch a TV show, practice piano, take a bubble bath, read, cuddle with CopperMan (can be done while watching TV or reading!)

Work Goals:

• Tweak schedule for staff. Fix problems with existing schedule.
• Answer all emails from week of vacation.
• Answer all mail from week of vacation.
• Start storytime planning.
• Gather promotional information & techniques from librarians with greater attendance numbers than me.
• Weekly progress reports with staff.
• Create schedule for self, and stay on task. Put up borders and enforce them with staff.

Must do:

• Make new budget. Get a framework that my dear husband and I can swing from while he doesn't have a job.
• Exercise at least 4 days this week.

Zone:

• Master Bedroom

New Habit of the month: [August]

• Lay out clothes and iron as part of bedtime routine. [UPDATE: This was getting easier. Then I took vacation. Hopefully, it will get easier again later this week!]

Menu:

• Sunday - open face chicken melts with lima bean soup
• Monday - quick chicken & dumplings with mixed veggies
• Tuesday - soft black bean & chicken tostadas with left over lima bean soup
• Wednesday - Southwest Salsa Burgers & green beans
• Thursday - leftovers
• Friday - spaghettie & french bread
• Saturday - taco bake

Fun Things:

• Swimming in kiddi pool with my neices.
• Biking with My Love
• Pool & hot tub at the Y with My Love
• Watching Chuck & Stargate SG-1 on DVD

Things I am thankful for this week:

• DVD's for 45 minute daily escapes
• Love who makes me a priority in his life
• Dog who loves me unconditionally
• Neices who think I am the greatest Aunt ever
• Vacation memories
• bible-study, girl friends
• long distance, texting prayer partners
• Bible Study group starting new study this Thursday! We are going to be studying how Jesus handled a day in his life where he received "one punch" (bad news, stress) after another. I can't wait to study how to relate to Jesus with this issue. I have been receiving a lot of "punches" lately.

Checklist for Week of August 9, 2010

Bible Study:

• Wife after God's own heart/ Elizabeth George
• Reading through 1 Corinthians

Memory Verse:

Psalm 126:3 (New Living Translation)
"Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!"

Husband Encouragement:

• Thank him for doing the dishes.
• Thank him for doing a great job with the laundry, and help him fold it all and put it away.
• Help him write cover letters for his job search.
• Help him dress for interviews.
• Let him know all the ways I need him.
• Speak to him with balance. Be honest about my fears for our finances while he is without work, but balance it with speech of faith.
• Do not lie to him. Acknowledge that I know he is not perfect and has faults, but emphasize that I love him anyway. Then emphasize the things he is good at, and help him to see how to turn his weaknesses into strength.
• Thank God for him in front of him.
• Pray for him out loud!
• Hug him often.
• Watch my tong. Temper my frustrations. Don't bottle them up, but don't take them out on him!
• Get over my needs and fulfill him. Especially now. He needs to be respected by me, needed by me, and fulfilled by me. I can do it with God's help. I know the job God gave me, and I know I can do it as I trust Him.

Personal Goals:

• Faith. Trust. Trust God with my current situation. Turn my husband, his job situation, and our finances over to God. Don't worry. Be happy in the LORD... and not just when I am having a quiet time. Practice those principles all day. Trust. Really trust God with my future... and My Love's... each time that nagging fear starts to try to ease into my brain - deny it. Counter it with a way God has provided for me in the past and scripture. Here's a couple to chew over:
• Luke 12:6-7 (New Living Translation)
  “What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins?
  Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows."
• Philippians 4:4-9 (New Living Translation)
  "Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.
  Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
  And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you."

Work Goals:

• get papers filed before vacation
• get office clean before vacation
• make sure all staff know what to do while I am out
• finish statistical reports for July

And, that's all because I will only be working four days this week. A goal a day!

Must do:

• Take CopperMan to the vet.
• Go by doctor's office for re-check after completing round of antibiotics.
• Pay water bill.
• Make calls for bible study group.

Zone: Kitchen/Laundry room

• de-clutter
• see what all I can get rid of or put in a better more useful place
• do one drawer or one pile at a time

New Habit of the month: [August]

• Lay out clothes and iron as part of bedtime routine.

Menu:

• Sunday - Mom's
• Monday - cumin breakfast steaks with tomato chili sauce and green beans over brown rice with carrots on the side
• Tuesday - mini frittitas and cantaloupe
• Wednesday - BBQ chicken, baked beans, corn on the cob & salad
• Thursday - Tilapia with Lemon peppercorn sauce & salad
• Friday - Asian grilled chicken, rice & broccoli
• Saturday - Spaghetti

Fun Things:

• Vacation starts when I get off work on Thursday. I don't have to show up to work or deal with any work problems for another whole week!
• Keeping nieces on Monday night.
• Biking with My Love.
• Swimming with My Love. We have not been to the pool in two weeks because I have been sick. We are going back this week, and I am so looking forward to it!

Things I am thankful for this week:

• My Love
• CopperMan
• 2 beautiful nieces close enough to keep and play with regularly
• Time off work
• DVDs
• God had the higher ups at my work realize that the big programs I had planned would be too much for me. I thank God they denied my plans. Now I get to focus on making storytime better. I am thankful for the chance to really get better at what I do. I am thankful that God is taking care of my problem of being over extended. I have been asking for His help for quite some time now, and I can see in my circumstance that He is in control...even of my bosses. Praise God. He is good...all the time.
• Girl Friends
• My husband's friends who are true friends and hang with him even when he doesn't have the money to go "out" with them.
• Text messaging = instant prayer support from friends and family all across the country.
• Godly friends & family lending both prayer and emotional support.

New Meaning to Staycation

While we were engaged, my husband and I took a lot of staycations. He felt that my job and wedding planning were making me frazzled, and he made me get "away" from life on Sundays. We would go to church. Then we would go to a local park or the beach and read, talk, pet the dog.... They were a lot of fun. We don't do them much anymore, even though life seems just as hectic and stressful now as then, because we are always too tired on Sunday. So, you can imagine how I was intregued when I saw the following caption in my new "Cooking Light" magazine, "A former 'staycation' skeptic finds out why chilling at home has it rewards."

Then I read the intro:

"We yearn to relax, and we're programmed to do it during this supposedly lazy, supposedly slower time of the year. But if you're like me it just seems harder and harder to unwind in these high-stress times."

I was hooked. I had to read the whole article. The author had just described me! Summer is my busiest time of the year, and I am very frazzled right now! But, I hear people all over the place talking about "lazy summer days" and think "what gives?".

To this journalist, Kate Meyers, the following quote is the key:

"The key is to walk away from your usual routine and give yourself a chance to see what you enjoy when you don't have to work, when you don't have chores to complete. This means letting go of errands and to-do lists, and getting away from your electronic devices of choice - the things we ideally flee when we go on vacation (though the iPhone and e-mail are global and hard to resist; in Paris cafes you see American tourists thousands of miles from home scanning American blogs). We can abstain from these things perfectly well at home, to similar vacation effects."

That is what my dear husband made me do when we were engaged. It is getting hard to remember why we stopped.

Ms. Meyers gives this advice:

"Turn of the the TV. Leave a voice mail saying you're on vacation, put the e-mail on auto-respond, and stay away from Facebook, if you're into Facebook. This certainly sounds cheaper than a week long beach getaway, doesn't it? And in a way, this sort of unplugging can be more focused, too, because so often, on vacations, we fall prey to the same need for busy-ness that stresses us in our daily lives. (See this historic site! Explore that museum!)...

"If the economy has dictated a home-based vacation, use the time to really unplug. Make a few rules, and observe yourself in the unplugged state. Then carry it into daily life. The habit of being overbusy can become the habit of being less busy, allowing for more time to be fully immersed in your own life. And that's bigger than a vacation - that's a gift."

Ms. Meyers interviewed one guy who said he hasn't taken a "vacation" in two years, but he takes little staycations everyday. I think that is a really good idea. This guy took time to play ball with his dog, cook with his wife and read. Those were the things he enjoyed, and he took time to do those things in an unhurried way. He savored them.

I know this was not a Christian article, but I thought there are some things to be learned here. I should take the time to savor my time with God and my worship. What could be more restful! But, what do I usually hurry the most?!? Then there are other things in my life that I really enjoy... even parts of my job, that I don't really slow down and enjoy. What did God give them to me for anyway? I should make more of an effort to enjoy them and to take time to thank God for them. Not that I need to do more stuff, just that I need to enjoy or savor more. I let all the busyness of life and the frantic pace steal my joy. Like I need to be busy all the time and doing everything perfect to be a good "Christian". But, I have been reminded a lot here lately of Mary and Martha and how on that fateful day when Jesus showed up a their house He said that Mary had chosen well when she sat at His feet. How often do I take time to just sit at His feet and enjoy my bible study or quiet time without hurrying on with the worries and busyness of my life. He has been chastening me lately to slow down and deliberately pray and read my bible, and to love my husband slowly, and to not always in such a rush to do dinner just so. This may not be a Christian article, but it held some tips that might help me do what God has been impressing me to do.

So, I am listing below some things that I enjoy, and I am going to stop trying to multitask and enjoy them.

1. Hugging my husband
2. Curling up with my husband and doing anything
3. Petting my dog
4. Storytime planning
5. Storytimes
6. Studying for bible study
7. Quiet times in bed with God
8. Cooking
9. Playing the piano
10. Exercising (swimming, jogging, biking)
11. Walking the dog
12. Long baths
13. Reading novels
14. Reading magazines
15. Talking to my mom

So, what can you do to take a mental vacation where you are? It might be just what the doctor ordered to keep you from becoming over frenzied.

Until next time...

Week of August 2

Bible Study

• Wife After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

Memory Verse

• Psalm 105:43 (New International Version)
  "He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy"

Husband Encouragement

• Lots of hugs
• Pray for him out loud with him.... let him hear me praying for him.
• Tell him all the things he does well.
• Laugh with him.
• Let him lead.
• Seek his advice more.

Personal Goals

• Balance my time better between work & play.
• Start back exercising. This is always hard after being sick, & since I still ran a fever part of the night last night, it is even harder to know what and how much to do this time.
• Actually start doing more than reading FLY Lady.

Work Goals

• Clean out the Meeting Room Closets.
• Make headway on cleaning my office.
• Make headway on at least one project I am behind on.
• Update personnel files.

Must Do

• Refile prescription
• Pay bills
• Pay ticket
• Go to the bank

Zone

• FLY Lady - Just jump in. Do the routines everyday and pick one of the challenges a day to do. They only take 2 to 15 minutes. I can do this... I can FLY...

New Habit of the Month - AUGUST

• Lay out clothes & iron as part of bed time routine.

Menu

• Monday - cumin spiced steak with green bean & chili tomato sauce on top over brown rice with corn on the cob on the side
• Tuesday - spinach & beef spaghetti with homemade brown bread
• Wednesday - chicken & artichoke bake with rice and copper pennies
• Thursday - chili mac & broccoli with cheese
• Friday - Date Night
• Saturday - grilled chicken & salmon with tossed salad
• Sunday - favorite local eatery, BBQ sandwiches & chips
• Snack of the week - oatmeal bars
• Dessert of the week - ice cream
• Breakfast special - cinnamon oatmeal raisin bran muffins

Fun Things

• Bike with husband
• Practice piano
• Plan for vacation!

Things I'm Thankful for this week

• My dear husband, My Love
• My very special dog, CopperMan
• my nieces (They are out of town, & man do I miss them this week!)
• House God gave me in my dream neighborhood
• Church & Sunday School that I love attending that encourages me to grow
• ladies bible study (We are on break right now, so we are not meeting this week, & man do I miss them as well!)
• Internet at home. I can finally do this at home and not at a wi-fi friendly coffee house (not that I didn't enjoy the visits to the coffee house!)
• laptops
• DVD's
• lemons - They just make ice water & iced tea so much better! Thank you, My Love, for drilling in the concept.
• high quality coffee
• morning bible readings in bed (kind of like breakfast in bed!)
• Vacation is coming soon!