New Location

I am moving my blogspot site to a new location.  Check out the new site at Inspire to Simple.

Are you ready for the Summer Challenge?

Summer is coming  . . . With the new season comes time for a new Hello Mornings! Challenge. I personally did not participate in the last session study on Job (I had another study I was trying to finish), and I am looking forwarding to being part of the Hello Mornings! Study again. 

The summer session which runs May 6th through August 2nd is participating in a Quench Bible Study by Katie Orr and Lara Williams, Meet Jesus, which covers the NT book of John.  All participants receive a copy of this study free. Registration is open until Friday, May 3rd.  Click here to register for this 13 week challenge with an online accountability group. Perfection is not a requirement! You only need a desire to meet with God in the morning and commitment to checking in with your group. There are Twitter and Facebook groups available, but some are already full, so if your thinking about, don't wait too long.  Register here.

Whether you choose to participate or not, may this summer be one that draws you closer to God. I look forward to "seeing" you at the Hello Mornings! Challenge.

What new habit?

Here I am at the beginning of a new month, and my calendar and to do list are telling me I wanted to post a new habit for the new month.  Since I have been revamping the way I am writing and posting things my "Habit of the Month" series has moved to my new blog, Simplicity And Inspiration.  (Go ahead and check it out on side bar and let me know what you think.)  

Here are some of the my thoughts as I processed what to writing and what habit to select for the new month. 

The Glories and Uncertainty of Opportunity

GO

Opportunity . . . the word seems so rich with possibilities and the potential of what could be and will be. Yet, there is the slight hesitation of what is unknown and all the the veil over the future hides from our view. Do I stand or sit in uncertainty  paralyzed by what I don't know and can't see, or do I reach out and take that stop of faith and go for the possible glory that opportunity holds.

Blog Changes

Well, here I go, making changes again and stretching outside my comfort zone. For a while now I have struggled with wanting to share some what I am learning as a mom and wife and, well, as a person. It seems that this aspect of my writing and sharing should be different or maybe more focused than my occasional ramblings, thoughts, and sharing that I tend to do on this blog.  As the idea has been bouncing around, I really wanted to be able to share more of what I blog about with the audience that I am looking to bless, but felt that that more thoughtful sharing that I do on my blog would not directly relate or appeal to them.

Habit of the Month: Being Present

New month, new habit . . . well, I struggled with whether or not I would do a new habit for this month of December. After all this month seems so full of activities, events, and things to do already; why add creating a new habit into the mix? The logic side of me reasoned: You would better be able to focus on a new habit once the new year started. What habit are you going to work on anyway? Maybe it would be better to wait. Then in the midst of sleepless nights due to a serious head cold and cough being passed around our home, surrounded by days of clamoring from my kids for activities and attention, my new habit idea was born.  

Habit of the Month Follow-up: Taking It Down A Notch

This month has been a weird combination of time flying by and slow motion. Overall the month has been very enjoyable, and our family was able to celebrate a wonderfully calm Thanksgiving Weekend.  

For the last month, the habit I have focused on has been one of reduction.  Taking my plans, ideas for activities, and to do list expectations and cutting them down a bit.  For more of an idea of what that entailed for us, check out my original post from the beginning of the month.  

So, how did I do at scaling back?  
Well, I think pretty good.  

Our extended family's Thanksgiving was celebrated at our home for the first time in several years, with both sets of grandparents being able to come.  What fun!  I initially started off with some pretty big ideas of cleaning, decorating, and food for the special day; then, considering my Habit for the Month, I started crossing things off my idea list.   Even after that, there were some family events that forced me to reevaluate what really "needed" to be done, and more cutting and trimming of expectations took place. Those coming to our home to eat made it very easy for me to delegate food dishes for them to bring, and everyone in our home pitched in to help clean and do some project things our home.  I even got some Pinterest ideas put into real life for the occasion.   Nothing fantastical about the event, but it was perfect for us.  

I am so pleased with the results of this month's habit.   Not only was I able to put to practical application a somewhat vague idea, but I was able to see the direct and indirect benefits of practicing my new habit.  With the new month's approach, I know that I will continue to have opportunity to practice my new habit, and I anticipate that it will continue to be solidified in my long term life habits and the benefits will continue to be as enjoyable as they have been this past month.

Hello Morning! Week 12

Wow!  This is the final week of this Hello Mornings Challenge.  It has been a joy to work on my Study habit and be able to hone my skills a bit during the twelve weeks.  I am eager to enter this week, finish the study, and start on the next step of my Hello Morning! Journey.  Taking a moment to just breathe in God's Word and breathe out prayer in the mornings before "life" begins has been a rewarding and refreshing change.

Habit of the Month: Taking It Down a Notch

This is a different sort of habit.  Often habits we develop with intention are something we establish to make us better or to help us do more.  This month's habit for me is to do less!

I love, love, love planning - almost to a fault.  When I get in planning mode, I can very quickly develop a plan that is so big or involved that putting it into action is difficult at best or impossible and stressful at worst.  So for this month my habit is to take a step back and strike something from the plan - just bring it down a notch.

• If I plan to run four errands today - move one to next week.
• When we get together to bake with Grandma, instead of making four types of cookies, maybe do two.
• If I wake expecting (planning) to accomplish five things from my project list - bring that down to two or three.

My reasoning for the unusual habit - simply to reduce the stress and pressure I can put on myself and my family to accomplish more than is reasonable or possible while tending to all the routine things of life.  If I am able to accomplish more great! Or maybe enjoy a few minutes of relaxation, go for a walk, play an extra game with the kids, etc. The idea is to just reduce the pressure and stress trying to cram more into the minutes of my day, just because I planned more than was reasonable. 

Going into the holdiays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's it is easy to get over busy. Running around and stressed so much I am not enjoying the moments is not what I want for this Season. So for this month I am practicing cutting out something(s) and slowing down just to enjoy some simple moments.  

"Back to Routines" Follow-up

As I review what I wrote about getting back to routines in September, what a joy to see things that I expressed as being important to me becoming a reality!  Pleasant mornings are more regular then they were when I fist wrote about routines.  The skill of being able to see the big picture and how my daily activities are effected by my goals is developing in my life. 

It has been a good "getting back to routines" time, and I am happy with the overall relative calmness and confidence that has come as a result. 

Being Hospitable

This past weeks passage (I Peter 4:1-11) seemed to be full of truths and things to study, ponder, and apply.  I found each day that certain phrases would jump off the page of my Bible.  Today's phrase is verse 9.

"Use hospitality one to another without grudging."

NKJV: Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.

ESV: Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

Amplified Bible: "Practice hospitality to one another (those of the household of faith). [Be hospitable, be a lover of strangers, with brotherly affection for the unknown guests, the foreigners, the poor, and all others who come your way who are of Christ’s body.] And [in each instance] do it ungrudgingly (cordially and graciously, without complaining but as representing Him)."

What does that mean?

Hospitality is defined as the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers [people]; the quality or disposition of receiving and treating [people] guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.

Since I do my study in KJV, I also defined grudging.  It is an adjective that means displaying or reflecting reluctance or unwillingness.

So, the guests and strangers who enter our home should be willingly and happily received.  Generosity and friendliness should mark our acceptance of those who are guests in our home, and I added life.  An attitude that is unwilling or reluctant to accept and entertain others is not acceptable.  

Application

Ouch, this one hit a little close to my heart. Not because I feel reluctant to be hospitable towards other people.  (I actually love it!)  But I know that I can feel that way about the people who live in my home every day, my family.  There are times when a friendly reception that treats my husband or children with warmth and generosity is far from issued in a way that is not reluctant or unwilling.  I have things that I need to do or want to do, and the last thing I feel like is stopping what I am doing and paying attention to them.  They will be there later . . . what I have needs to be done . . . the reasoning could go on.

No, I am to stop and welcome them willingly with warm generosity.  Whether it is when they come home from work or school or whether they are entering the room I am in from somewhere else in the house.   It does not have to be a big production, but the heart attitude of being hospitable without grudging needs to be in my life.  

Hello Morning! Week 11

Wow!  Week 11!  We are on the home stretch of this study.  Only three more weeks, and this Hello Mornings! Study will be complete.  There seemed to be such a slow moving start to the study that I find it hard to believe we are nearing the end.  

With the initial read and study of the passage (I Peter 4:1-11), there seems to be so much to wrap my brain around and process, yet I am excited about what is there for me to glean this week.  Today I especially appreciated verse 11.

". . . If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things might be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever.  Amen."

I am at a point, where I sense a particular opportunity opening and yet, I hesitate -  should I really do this?  can I do this?  I know that I can work in the ability God has given me, and commit the results to Him!

One practical aspect to the routine of this Hello Mornings Challenge has been the habit of clearing my desk.  I know that ladies often comment about doing their morning Bible study in their favorite chair or sitting comfortably on the sofa.  I have found if I am too comfortable, it is way to easy for me fall asleep again once I am settled in for my study and prayer time. That combined with that fact that I have been using some computer resources in my study (depending on how much time is available before I need to face the more urgent matters of the day), I have been sitting at my desk for my morning study time.  One day sort of by accident, I discovered a new way to make my approach to this early morning habit a joy.  I had gotten my desk fairly well cleared of pressing projects, and it was looking rather neat, so on a whim as I went to bed I put my study notebook and Bible out front and center of my desk work area.  The next morning, as I approached my desk for study, there they sat ready and waiting to greet me.  What a grand feeling it was!  What a great way to start my morning and a great encouragement to me to actually sit and do my study!  

And so was born a new habit and an addition (and motivation) to my evening routine.  I am still working to make this step a solidly consistent part of my evening routine, but the days I do, the reward is the happy greeting of "I am ready for you" the next day when I sit to study.  

I am praying for you, Reader, that this week, that you too will find a happy motivation in the life you are seeking to establish.  May your reward be the discovery of one small joy in what you face each day.  

Wrongful? Suffering

So often when we are wronged or we feel that we suffering unfairly, we think that no one else understands what we are experiencing - no one else has suffered the wrong that we are suffering.  "Christ . . . suffered . . . the just for the unjust."  I Peter 3:18a.  Not only does he know and understand our situation and how we feel, for He is, well, God! but Christ too suffered unjustly when on earth.  

On Monday, when I first read through this week's Hello Mornings study passage (I Peter 3:18-22), I got stuck in the comments about Noah and baptism and it's relation to salvation.   Throughout the week, I have not done well with staying in the I Peter study.   I have done a lot of praying and "sitting at the feet of Jesus", but it has been through other avenues and not my Hello Mornings Study. Then this morning, having some "extra" quiet time, I intentionally went back to the I Peter study thinking I should study the passage a bit more before we move on to a new week and new section of Scripture.  Verse 18 just jumped off the page of my Bible!  

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:"  

Christ suffered unjustly, but not just because of a misunderstanding or someone's hurtful actions or words, but by willing choice that He through the shedding of His blood and death on the cross and subsequent resurrection from the dead, might provide a way to bring us into the presence of God the Father! Our sin (the pride of thinking we don't need God and setting ourselves up as gods and all the resulting actions and thoughts that come from that) separates us from a relationship with God. Christ died to bridge that separation. 

All the just and unjust difficulties or pain that I may experience in my life does not stand in the face of the suffering Christ bore for me (for everyone).  How dare I complain!  The difficulty is still difficult, that does not change, but my attitude of "woe is me" really has no place!

"Thank you, Father God, for the joys and the pains of life."

Hello, Morning! Week 6

Here we are in the middle of week six of the Hello Mornings Challenge over at Inspired to Action.   I am finding it hard to believe that we are in Week 6 already!  Yet, at the same time, it seems as if we are just getting started.  This week we are starting in to the second chapter of I Peter.   In my initial read of verses 1-12, the phrases "the LORD is gracious" and "his marvelous light" and "we have obtained mercy" jumped at me.   

As I am going through this week, the graciousness of God is my rejoicing.  His great riches poured on me.  As I heard defined last week: divine influence in the heart reflected in one's life.  God's grace.  

The pattern of this study is becoming very evident in the weekly approach to the passage of Scripture.  Reading for understanding or clarification of words and phrases the first day.  The the next three days reading the passage looking for truths, promises, and commands.  Finally, applying the passage to daily life.  The no nonsense approach that is easy to follow each week, is a great tool to learn.  Not only for use in study this current passage of I Peter, but to be taken and used in the study of any Scripture passage.  

Hello, Morning! Week 5

Week five is drawing to a close, and it seems as if the time has flown this week.  Study has been more challenging, and I am slipping in my early morning study time.  It is more of a mid-day study time the last few days. I am continuing to rise early (for the most part), but my family is starting to make the adjustment to early mornings along with me, and so what has been a quiet time for me in the early hours is becoming more of a family time.   I love the transition for us all, we seem to be starting our days better because it, but I am missing the alone time before everyone else is up.  

The passage of study this week has been a challenge to read each day.  The sentence structure and flow of thoughts within thoughts has been difficult for me to wrap my brain around.  Prayer:  "Holy Spirit guide me and grant me understanding as I read."   Two truths that seemed to repeating jump at me as I read and reread the passage this week, has been from verse 18 & 19 and 23.   "Ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things,  . . . but with the precious blood of Christ" and " . .. . the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever."   It is not me, and anything in me, it is God and God alone that does the amazing work of salvation and that keeps us!  He abides forever! despite what I do or how I act or think.  He is the great I AM.  Now and forever.  

Book Review: Survival for Busy Women

Survival For Busy Women:  Establishing Efficient Home Management by Emlie Barnes is a good resource of advice and ideas for helping any woman learn how to better manage her home and life.

Life can be very busy or stressful and the suggestions and guidelines through out this book are practical how to's for those seeking guidance and help for life management.   Lists and charts, project ideas, and organizational suggestions are scattered through out the book. 

I enjoyed the easy reading of Emlie's writing and the format of this book.  The ideas presented, though not new to me, where done simply and in some cases differently than I have seen previously. 

The edition of this book I read was published over twenty-five years ago and that fact could be seen in several of the tools she referenced.  The ideas are still applicable, though.  The concepts of life management do not change over time.   An update of to this book is available, and I am looking forward to reading it to see if and how the author incorporates the tools technology has made available.   I am curious to see if she has an new ideas or suggestions after twenty plus years.  

Survival for Busy Women is a good primer for those seeking to be more efficient in their home management.  Whether for a young person or a lady with much experience, I would recommend this book for the basic ideas, suggestions, and charts presented by the author.  

Hello, Morning!: Week 4

Wow!  This past week has been tough.  The holiday weekend at the beginning of the week, a sick child home for two days, and an explainable lack of focus have all contributed to making my study time much more of a discipline than a joy this week.  

My prayers as I have entered Bible Study this week, have been very much along the lines of, "Father, drive away the distractions and help me focus on Your Word! PLEASE!!!"  

God's gracious riches extended to me, so that I may obey and honor Him has been the thought that has been noticeable to me in the passage this week.   I am so grateful that even when I don't feel it, God is good and still is choosing to guide and bless me.  

As I enter this week, I had hoped to be moving on to a new habit to solidify. Not so -- my focus is going to be staying on track.  I sense I am at a crossroads in my study time and the development of this habit of everyday focus moments.  I will either continue on in the pursuit of something I know is good, or I will turn aside to something else.  The something else is not really what I want to do . . . so for this week - focus and perseverance!  

Habit of the Month: Back to Routines

I have taken a break from writing and posting over the summer months.  Now, as my girls are headed back to school and our schedule needs are changing, it is time for a "back to routines" evaluation.  

Some times of the year just naturally lend themselves to changes in the routines of my day and a reevaluation of my time usage.  The start of the school year and beginning of the fall season are one of those times.  (Oh, how I love the fall!  Maybe more on that in a later post.)  The relaxed morning and evening duties/routines of summer do not assist in the smooth functioning of our family as a tighter schedule becomes necessary for school obligations.  

Mornings can be chaos and craziness if we don't have some sense of structure to them.  Getting my family up and started on their days with a pleasant attitude in our home, is a priority for me.  To help make this a reality, having a routine to our mornings is a must!  Once we get into it, even on the weekends it seems the routine is followed, though at a slightly more relaxed pace.  

Often repeated in organization and time management circles, is the concept that your morning really starts the evening before.  When I first heard the idea I agreed a routine the night before that considers the morning coming would be helpful, though I really did not think it was that important.  Well, I have been converted!  Considering the next morning and day as you go into the activities for the evening is cornerstone in helping me to make the coming morning pleasant. 

In addition to getting back to more structured morning and evening routines, evaluating my activities in the home, time spent out of the home, and where I am putting my energy is a big part of getting back to routines.  Big activities, jobs, and events all trickle down into the everyday tasks and commitments.   I need to be certain they are the priorities I should have and want.  If I don't things quickly spin out of control.  

So, this month's habit:  "Back to routines!"  I am looking forward to the structured organization and different sort of relaxed feeling it will bring to my life and our home.

Hello Morning!: Week 3

image from inspiredtoaction.com

What a fast week of study it has been.   Last week, those following the I Peter study read through the entire book - a chapter a day.  It was a great overview week, and it is wonderful how the Lord gives verses of encouragement and application through the book.   If you want to read what Katie at Inspired To Action says this week about the study, you can find her comments here.

This week, we look at the first passage (I Peter 1:1-2, 5:12-14).  Personally, I am curious as to why the writers of the study paired these verses.   Hopefully by the end of the week, it will be clear to me. Each day this week has a different focus as we read the passage.

Day 1:  Read the passage.

Day 2:  Look for specific truths.

Day 3:  Find the promises given.

Day 4:  Note commands.

Day 5:  Apply what I have learned to my life.

This week as we enter more of the in depth study of the passage, my focus will be spending time in prayer before each study.  I want to glean from this passage what I need to be learning, and I know that I need God's direction and help.  

image from http://prayinghandsclipart.com/ 

Hello Morning!: Week 2

Last week was a good start to the development of my Hello Mornings Habit.  I was up a bit earlier each day, though I did not get my study time in each day before others were up and needing attention.  

I did get through all five days of my Bible Study and actually had an extra day to do some additional reading.  Yah!   The feeling of taking control of my day and being more proactive and intentional is wonderful.  I think also, the fact that my family is seeing that this is important to me has been wonderful.  

This week's focus will be to not only continue getting up a bit earlier to do some reading and study, but to be getting to bed a bit earlier to make those morning moments more enjoyable.   This should help too with solidifying my evening routine as we head into the school year.  

How are you doing on the development of your new habit?  Do not allow yourself to be overwhelmed.  One tiny baby step at a time . . . you are moving forward!