 Entering the last week of the Whole Armor 30 Day Challenge I find myself with renewed passion. I started this challenge worn out, discouraged, and overall unfocused. I have found that I AM able to invest in other people, my family and my burdens, all while keeping a level head and without burnout. It takes focus, an appreciation in everything, a desire to impact, and most importantly, each day centered on God.
This last week I spent my time in silence so I could hear a word from God and focus my mind. Specifically during this time I kept my radio off while I was driving. I have come to find that I have a lot of great brainstorming that goes on in my mind while I drive. Not sure if that’s a good thing or notJ During these moments of silence I’ve been specific in my requests to God about what it is I’m seeking. Let’s just say I hit the jackpot. My mind is overflowing with ideas again to fuel my passions. I’ve also been taking time during my day to exercise, and this again has freed up time for me to step away from the craziness of my day, and just think and rejuvenate myself. This last week of this challenge I plan on implementing, implementing, implementing. Part of enjoying time in your life is ensuring you don’t get bogged down. I’m going to face my renewed passions head on and get the ball rolling so I can keep things in balance in my life. I want to continue to allow time for family, for friends, for God, for my burdens, and for whatever else God sends my way. To do this, I’m going to keep order in my life and find the opportune time for everything. I encourage you to HOLD ME ACCOUNTABLE! I have an exciting THREE months ahead filled with many objectives:
I would love to encourage you on your journey. Please email me at info@wholearmorministry.com.
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 Getting ready to start the second week in my 30 Day Challenge to enjoy life and others. As I consider my goals for this upcoming week I can't help but feel satisfied with my progress during week one. I accomplished every one of the goals I set! I had a really wonderful week because of it. Designating time to accomplish various tasks during the week helped keep my mind focused, which after age 40, can be difficult.
In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (MSG) it says there's an opportune time to destroy and another to construct. This week I intend to defeat some things in my life. This part of my 30 day challenge will require me to close some doors so that new doors can open. As I was praying this morning, it hit me that my stress and craziness in my life has a lot to do with all the open "to-do's" I have in my life. I used to be the type of person that always finished tasks when I started them. Today I find it difficult to be as efficient in completing tasks. I also have so many obligations to complete that I have loose ends everywhere. This is where the DESTRUCTION must begin. Projects and tasks must be completed, destroyed, put in the past. I need the ability to focus on new construction in my life. As I write about in "Whole Armor of Marriage," protecting the mind is critical to ensuring strong relationships and strong marriages. A lack of focus can cause mayhem on your mind. If I were project manager this week in my life, I would ensure a number of steps are defined at the start: -Identify open projects -Prioritize projects by urgency -Determine deadline date -Inventory what is needed to complete projects -Identify and recruit any support needed -Schedule on calendar how each will get completed -Find some type of motivation or goal when projects are done Since I have so many projects going on in my life I have to focus on only a few. This week, I challenge myself to destroy the following: 1. Home Destruction: Complete kitchen tile, get rid of project materials, find fabric for chairs, bath dog, paint near stair line, college class registration and dental exams 2. Habit Destruction: Laziness in my workout routine; continue to work out over lunch and two mornings this week. 3. Work Destruction: Expansion plan and compliance paperwork 4. Spiritual Destruction: Finalize outreach block party, purchase rocks for hyphen Rock It Rally In this destruction I will open up new opportunities to reorganize my schedule with less clutter. I will be able to start new goals without the distraction of uncompleted past goals. Worries will be destroyed and fears of the unknown will be eliminated. I'm challenging myself and YOU to seize this time to destroy things that are hindering you to move forward. Be your own project manager and commit to a deadline. Don't forget to reward yourself when you meet your deadline. My reward is going to be stress free family time over the weekend. I have family coming from out of town and I want the weekend to be carefree from the cares of pending construction in my life. Why not JOIN ME! I challenge you to create some DESTRUCTION in your life. If you haven't committed to the 30 Day Challenge, start today! If you want me to help keep you accountable please email me at info@wholearmorministry.com. I'd love to be there for you!  On my last blog, “Poof! Up-Up-Away,” I posed a challenge to couples to take more time to appreciate each other and to lessen the load on your schedule. If you accepted the challenge, how are you doing?
I’m off to a good start….This weekend my family was able to spend some much needed time with our grandson, Gabriel. Though we could have done a million other things, we put Gabriel as a priority. That was definitely time well spent But that was just the start: I was also able to have coffee with a friend, watch a baseball game with a bunch of friends, eat some ice cream with great people, listen to the Word of God, take a long Sunday nap, and rescue my child from a broken down car. We finished the weekend watching the Honors Flight DVD, appreciating our veterans and remembering the sacrifices of great men along with the great sacrifices of my own family (my husbands an Army veteran). Overall I think it was a very successful weekend! This week I’m committed to:
 Every year I tell my husband that we need to slow down in our lives. Yet, year after year it seems as if our schedules become even more cluttered and more overscheduled. How can we have “normal” lives if we are working all day, checking our emails all night, working on projects until midnight, and not taking breaks on weekends or even during vacations? Last night I posed the question of possibly committing to NO technology over our vacation. My husband immediately turned white with fear and didn't even reply to my request. Why can’t we unplug? If I can find any comfort in the answer, at least I know we aren’t the only couple that struggles with constantly being plugged into everything. That still doesn’t make it alright though!
We set aside time for God, but it’s never enough. We set aside time for each other, but it’s never enough. We rarely set aside time for our entire family, and with two young college-bound men for sons, we may be missing our last opportunities with them. We have goals, ambitions, work demands, church demands and physical demands. Honestly, most nights I want to break down and cry because of the overwhelming number of tasks and deadlines we need to complete. In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (MSG), the word says, “There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth. A time to (for):
God’s word is great at providing clear direction as to how we are supposed to keep order in our lives. He gives us these guidelines to show not only the limitations we need to set on ourselves mentally and physically but also so we can give time for the spiritual. How is it that God gives such easy direction on how to live a stress free life yet we won’t listen? He’s even given us the gift of the Holy Spirit to comfort us and we still find ways to take control back over. I would like to challenge you to join my family over the next 30 days. Commit to making some changes in how you schedule your life. Don’t find yourself regretting the years that mysteriously passed by. Even if you have to schedule specific time in your calendar so you set the time aside…DO IT! Over the next month, think about the opportune time to do things such as time for:
If you accept this 30 day challenge, email us at info@wholearmorministry.com or tell us on Facebook. You can always find out more information about us at www.wholearmorministry.com. |
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