Being a Godly Woman, Living intentionally
Do you use your time wisely and effectively?
How do you determine what gets done each day? Are you a planner?
I find that if things aren’t on my calendar, they don’t get done. It’s that simple, for me.
It’s all about the planner…
I use my phone calendar to keep track overall of appointments, activities, and responsibilities for my family, work, and school. I actually use a paper planner to really manage my time. I write in all the things I need to do each day and assign them a time. I tend to work in blocks of time, but even within blocks, I’ll often write out specific tasks which need to be done.
Time blocks
I like working in blocks of 25 or 40 minutes. Typically, I use 40-minute increments. I set the timer on my phone or use a visual timer. Something about setting that timer tells me to focus and makes all the difference.
One task at a time
One of best takeaways from the dissertation research course I just took was to NOT switch tasks in a single block of time. Don’t try to do several things in one sitting. For example, if I’m finding research articles, I only find the articles and save them. I typically print them also, but that’s fairly easy while I looking for the next one. I don’t skim, read, or highlight them at that time. I save that for another block of time and do several at once. I’m faster, more effective, and more efficient when I do so.
I’ve taken that principle and have applied it to all areas of life and blocks of time across my day. I find that I accomplish much more and it makes the work easier when I do so.
When I don’t…..well, that’s another story.
When we stay with one task, our brain works much more efficiently. It slows us down to switch back and forth between tasks.
“The Zone”
So, for me, I find that blocking out my time, assigning a specific task to each block of time, and then setting a timer puts me in “the zone” to work. It helps me stay focused on what it most important. (It’s all about saying Yes! to what matters most, right?)
I only work until the timer goes off, not until the task is finished. If I need more time to finish, I schedule another block of time later.
We’re all created differently and have our own style. What works for one won’t necessarily work for the next. Some would go crazy with my method; others would love it. 😊
I really want to make the best use of my time.
There are a lot of things I could spend (or waste) my time on each day. I want to be intentional and use it well. I’m like anyone else — some days I’m a “work in progress”; other days I spend my time well. Scripture tells us to make the best use of our time: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16, ESV)
I love hearing how others manage their time or tasks.
What works for you?
How do you mange all that God has called you to do each day?
Being a Godly Woman, Living intentionally, Transformation
Are you familiar with emotional intelligence (EQ)?
EQ is defined as: the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. According to Daniel Goleman, a psychologist who made this concept popular, it is made up of 5 key elements:
- Self-awareness
- Self-regulation
- Motivation
- Empathy
- Social skills
Have you ever been in an awkward situation brought about by low EQ?
I remember a very awkward situation I once observed. I felt bad not only for those impacted by it, but also for the one displaying the low EQ.
Let me set up the situation: Women were gathered for a special holiday event and there was an ornament exchange. Each woman was to bring a wrapped ornament to exchange anonymously. It was a lot of fun until one woman disliked the ornament she received. Instead of quietly setting it aside and allowing the event to continue smoothly, she made a big deal out of how much she disliked the ornament she chose.
I mean — a really big deal out of it.
She went on and on about how ugly it was and asked everyone near her, and those who walked by, if they thought it was ugly. She would not stop talking about it or complaining about receiving it. Eventually, another woman said she would trade her, just so she would stop.
Embarrassment…
I was embarrassed for the woman who was complaining. It was rude and she was oblivious to the feelings of anyone else. It was all about her. I was also embarrassed for the woman who had brought the ornament and I empathized with her. She was nearby and heard every criticism made of her and her choice of ornaments. It was rather painful. She later expressed to me how much it bothered her and how embarrassed, and a little angry, it made her. It was not necessary, and honestly, it was neither a mature reaction nor a godly reflection of how to treat others.
Can you relate to that?
Have you ever been in that type of situation? I think that will stick with me forever. I will admit that I lost a lot of respect for that woman that day, as her true character was on full display. It confirmed little signs I had seen previously.
It will also stick with me as a reminder of how to treat others and how to respond graciously to situations. It reminds me of the way our words and actions can impact others.
Pruning
Although I’ve always tried to be one who is very sensitive to the feelings and needs of those around me, God used that situation to do a little self-check in my own life as well. I looked for anything that needed to be pruned away.
- Were there any situations in which I was reacting to others in a hurtful way?
- Was I only aware of my own desires and needs and not concerned for others?
- How do I deal with disappointment?
- Do I react in a way that does not reflect the love of Christ and His control of my life?
What about you? Do you need any pruning?
- Have any character traits slipped into your life that you need to prune away?
- Do your actions and responses reflect Christ?
- Are you sensitive and empathetic to those around you?
- Are you aware of how you come across and how others perceive and “receive” you?
Ask God to help you prune any character traits from your life that are not truly reflective of Him.
Being a Godly Woman, Living intentionally
Do you ever feel like you’re over-extended with multiple things to do on your list, but you know you really don’t have enough to give all of them what they really need? Something will get “less”, whether intentional or not.
I’ve been dealing with a few things in this category myself and have been praying through some tough “Yes” and “No” decisions. It’s part of life and we all have to constantly evaluate and look at our use of time, talents, and resources.
I realize that for this season of life, certain people and things are much more important than others. They’re my calling. While I can say “Yes” to many things and they would be good, they’re really not the best use of my time right now. They’re not what matters most. I must stay focused on the most important tasks and roles God has given me. To leave the legacy I want to leave in key areas of my life, it will require me to make some tough choices sometimes.
Maybe you have a decision to make.
A choice about whether to say yes or no to an opportunity.
- What will get “less” if you say yes?
- Is it worth it?
- What difference would it make if you say no?
What will you do today to be intentional with your choices to make sure you’re saying “YES!” to what matters most?
What do you need to do to make sure your “YES!” is worth the less?
Being a Godly Woman, Life Purpose, Living intentionally, Transformation
Have you ever thought about what it means to “bloom with grace”?
My daughter painted this for me this weekend. She really enjoys painting and likes to give gifts and little notes of encouragement to people. She asked what my favorite flower is and then ran downstairs and painted this in just a few minutes. Not only do I think she did a beautiful job, but the phrase is very powerful.
We’re all probably familiar with the “bloom where you’re planted” phrase. We see it on a variety of items throughout the year, but especially in the spring. She took a different spin on it though. She added to bloom with grace.
Hmmm…. That’s interesting to think about.
Where are you planted during this season of life?
Are you blooming, or are you kicking and screaming that you’re there “against your will”? Are you determined to let everyone know this is not where you want to be or what you want to do?
- Why do you think God has you planted where you are right now?
- What could he be teaching your about yourself and about Him during this season?
- How does He want to use this time to your benefit and His glory?
- How can you bloom to be more like Him?
What about grace?
- Are you showing grace to those around you where you’re planted right now?
- What about yourself? Are you showing yourself grace?
- Are you letting other emotions rule and withholding grace from yourself and others?
When I think about blooming, I think of the things that are needed: water or nourishment, sunshine, good soil, and roots that grow strong and deep. If we’re fighting against God and the place where He has planted us right now, we’re not going to develop those strong roots and thrive. We may even grow for a while but not really ever bloom.
In order to bloom with grace wherever you’re planted right now, what changes do you need to make?
- Is there someone you need to be more gracious to?
- What would that look like?
- Do you need to change your attitude about your calling and roles for this season of your life and accept that God has planted you there?
- Or maybe it’s the opposite….maybe God wants to plant you somewhere else, but you want to stay where you are and not venture into something new with him.
What will you do today to bloom where you’re planted with grace?
Being a Godly Woman, Living intentionally
The boys
As you may know, I have 2 sons with Down syndrome. They are 8 and 9 years old. They are both in special education classrooms at their school and go to “specials” (PE, Music, Art) with a regular-education second grade class. Noah also spends one hour each day integrated into that same class for regular-education services. He loves it!
“Friendship Day”
Last week, Noah was invited to the “Friendship Day” party in that classroom to celebrate Valentine’s Day. This was HUGE for us. It’s the first time he’s ever been included for that type of thing. He was pretty excited about it. I went to the parties for both boys that day and was able to meet Noah’s classmates in the regular ed classroom. I know the children in their special education rooms, all of their teachers, and therapists, but had never met any of the children, other parents, or the teacher from his regular ed classroom.
It was a wonderful experience. As soon as we got there, everyone was so welcoming and happy to see him. He’s tiny compared to them– have the size of some of them or even smaller! He’s actually older than them though, as he’s 9 and would be in third grade, but we kept him back this year because he’s doing so well with reading and math and we wanted to solidify that foundation before we sent him to third grade, since it’s a huge jump. Plus, he wouldn’t be able to keep up and integrate in with a regular-ed classroom.
He played games, ate his snack, and passed out his valentines that he made for everyone in the class. One little girl immediately said she would help him to find everyone’s boxes. It was really sweet. At the end of the party, he said “Goodbye” and “thank you” and he went back to his special ed classroom with arms loaded with goodies and a huge smile on his face.
Surprised by kindness
When we got home that afternoon and I looked at his valentines from the other children with him, my heart swelled, and my eyes got a little teary. Ok, maybe more than “a little”. They’re teary even as I write this now.
I included a photo of a card made by one of the students. She took time to make a handwritten note addressed to both boys. She thanked them for joining them in “specials” (PE, Art, Music) and encouraged them by saying their drawings are good. My heart melted. How sweet is that?
Seriously, who’s cutting onions in the room right now?
Whisper from God
As a momma of 2 sweet boys with special needs I can’t begin to tell you how much that means to me. You think about about their future. Will people be kind? Will others look out for them? And so on…
Seeing the sweet card this little girl made was like a whisper from God saying, “They’re my sweet boys. I will take care of them.”
My next thought was of this little girl’s own mom. I have no idea who Payton is, but she has a kind heart and she has been taught well.
What about me?
I got to thinking about that and how it applies to me.
- Is there anything in my life that I need to be passing on to my own children, or an area where I need to look out for someone else?
- Am I open to doing what God wants me to do and going where He leads each day?
Maybe I’m supposed to be the “whisper from God” for someone else.
Maybe something I do will be confirmation for them and will touch their heart in a way that I will never know.
What about you?
- Is there anything you would like to instill in your own children?
- Is there anything you’ve been sensing that God wants you to do but you haven’t done it yet?
Maybe you’ll be somebody’s “whisper from God”.
The tiniest acts of kindness and encouragement can change someone’s day or even life. You never know!
What will you do today to be kind and to encourage someone?
Being a Godly Woman, Family, Goals, Living intentionally
Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe it’s 2017 already. Wasn’t it just 1991 and I was planning my wedding? Ok, so maybe it doesn’t feel like it’s that long ago, but the whole Y2K thing feels like yesterday. Here we are, already 17 years later. Wow! Even more of a reminder of what I thought I’d write about today…
Do you have a focus word or phrase for this coming year? As I’ve reflected on the past year and have thought about the coming year, one word keeps coming to mind for me. It’s “STEWARD“. As in stewardship. That word has been very meaningful to me lately and I’ve chosen it to be my theme / focus for 2017. I want to be a good steward of my life.
As I mentioned above, time seems to be flying by. One minute I’m bringing home a newborn from the hospital and the next minute (it seems) he’s now turning 23. Repeat that scene multiple times and I can really feel time passing by. We’re only given so much time with our children. Only so much time with our spouses. Only so much time here on earth in general. We don’t have time to waste with foolish choices or careless words and actions. (more…)
Being a Godly Woman, Goals, Living intentionally, Transformation, Uncategorized
The New Year is coming! Are you ready to be more awesome? 🙂
Resolutions
With the new year, we often make resolutions or set new goals. Unfortunately, we never achieve many of them.
Maybe “being more awesome than last year” isn’t your exact resolution for the coming year, but life coaching can help you to achieve your real resolution.
What if?
What if this year could be different? What if you did make a resolution and keep it? It takes 21 days to develop a new habit. What if you went longer than that? What if you spent 3 solid months working with a life coach to develop a “New You” for the New Year? (more…)
Being a Godly Woman, Living intentionally
Do you have a Paul, Barnabas, and Timothy in your life? Do you live by that principle?
Living by this principle means you have three specific people in your life:
- Someone speaking into you
- Someone walking along with you
- Someone you are investing in
When we live by this principle and have these 3 key individuals in our life, it keeps us authentic and transparent. It’s a way to always be learning from different angles in life. (more…)
Being a Godly Woman, Life Balance, Living intentionally, Transformation
I’ve been thinking about this post for a while. The topic’s a little painful, but something God’s really been working on me about. Our culture today is self-absorbed. “Lovers of themselves”. All about “me”.
I’ve been trying to do a little self-reflection and really align my life with God’s plan for me in this area. I’ll admit that I catch myself doing what I’m writing about as much as anyone else. Ok, well, maybe not as much as some…. 
But, in all sincerity, it’s so common in our culture today and we don’t even really think anything about all of our updates, photos of ourselves, bragging, and letting everyone know what we’re doing . (Every. Single. Thing. we do)
(more…)
Being a Godly Woman, Living intentionally, Transformation
As a coach and pastor’s wife, I really enjoy working with women who want to live intentionally and align their life with God’s desires for them. One of the most exciting things is to watch them grow spiritually and deepen their faith. It’s sometimes easy to begin that relationship with Christ, but it can be really hard to “live it out” on a day-to-day basis — especially when hard times come.
One of the things that I love about coaching is that we evaluate where we currently are and then can take the necessary steps to move forward and grow. Even if you’re not where you want to be yet, it’s ok. The important thing is being honest about where you really are currently and then you can work to change that. Often times we try to avoid looking at the reality or just find a way to work around it so that we don’t have to face it. But by getting a good look and honestly evaluating it, we can make deep, significant changes that last. (more…)
I’ve been trying to do a little self-reflection and really align my life with God’s plan for me in this area. I’ll admit that I catch myself doing what I’m writing about as much as anyone else. Ok, well, maybe not as much as some…. 
