The Little Things

by

I had the sweetest neighbor when I was a young married new mom,  She was one of those people who exudes happiness and contentment, even though she and her spouse had never had much in the way of possessions or opportunity, but they made everything they touched sing!

They had married young and purchased a tiny, old home and then spent 50 years making it a haven of beauty and peace.  They dug a cellar literally with a shovel.  They grew a garden that rivaled Eden.  They built a small back porch onto their little kitchen and ate all their meals there in the summer.

She made bread a few times a week and shared it with the neighbors (we loved our turns!). They both sang and square-danced and seemed to always be smiling.

They raised six children (I believe) and they, like their parents were a blessing to their community.

One memory I have of this friend was her comment to me one day when she came to see our new baby.  She asked if she could help me tidy a bit and I was grateful for her help.  She was one of those people who didn’t judge, just pitched in to be helpful, so it was comfortable to have her presence and influence.

As she busied herself making our bed, she remarked that early on in her married life, she had timed how long it took to make their bed in the morning, and then she said, she realized that she could always make time for the 1 1/2 minute job that would immediately make everything else seem orderly and well kept.

She made that comment to me 28 years ago, and I still remember that visit very well. She was teaching  me, without making a big deal of it or seeming like she thought that she was older and wiser and that I was in need of her wisdom! Of course, I was in need of her wisdom, and I appreciated her brand of sharing and leading.

We just learn things little by little don’t we?  I didn’t ever think of bed-making the same after that conversation.  I began saying to myself, hey, it’s just 1 1/2 minutes and it’s going to change my sense of well-being so much!

Sometimes we allow our physical surroundings to intimidate us and make us feel incompetent or incapable.  But when we do the little things (and time ourselves for future verification and validation) little by little we can create order and feel that we can maintain it too.

I hope that you have a sweet neighbor in your life, or that you are being one to someone who is coming behind you.

We need each other!

Be well,

Jacque

 

A Snickity Snack

by

It’s little and it’s yummy.  My friend Judy asked me a few months ago if I had ever tried eating cucumbers with peanut butter.  No, never occurred to me and I really couldn’t imagine the two tastes together.  As it turns out, I’m in love! And I eat this little snack all the time!  Does it sound strange to you? Maybe your little people will like it.

Happy Monday to your house!

Love,

Jacque

“Try it and you may I say!”

Fight Smarter!

by

I’ve been thinking a lot about yesterday’s post and the idea that it may not be enough to speak our declarations each day.  According to Mr. Peale, we have to take them to another level, like 10 notches up if we want to gain the self-mastery, confidence, health and the “creative faith” we desire.

So what does that look like?  What does it mean?

I’m thinking that it means that I am posting my declarations in multiple locations.  It means that I will go back to using grand music in the background as I say them.  It means I will begin again to carry them on my person, probably on a note card in my pocket.  (That is a powerful habit, not sure why, but it really does well to remind you many times through the day, what you have chosen as your focus.)

It means that I’ll give myself permission to obsess about the positives!  To sound like a nut, contradicting the odds, seemingly denying the present state of affairs and keeping my gaze on only the present positives and the future I want to create.

It means rolling up our sleeves and getting seriously settled in the driver’s seat.  It means getting a little feisty about what conversations we intentionally have and recognizing how we feel more often. It means kicking up our self-care even higher and gratefully accepting more help when we need it.

Too often, we make minuscule efforts to guard our minds and hearts and then wonder at the unfairness when we get solidly knocked to the ground by a difficult challenge or even by a fleeting negative thought!

More ammunition!  More energy in preparation!  More “creative faith!”  More determination!  This is where we put our “stubborn!”  We plant our feet and say to the powers that be: This is where I stand, and I will not be moved from my chosen path.

God bless us each to catch the vision of our personal power and then to use that power to move heaven and earth to fulfill our personal missions here.  If it is right, God will grant our desires if we ask in faith.

You’re amazing!!  And I send your my love and confidence.

Be well!

Jacque

 

Heaven Sent

by

I was severely challenged today, mind and body, and several things were sent from heaven.

A compassionate friend, who stopped to say hi and I’ve been thinking of you, how can I help? What a soothing balm a friend can be!  And at the right time and with the right heart, they come straight from God!

And, that kindness prepared me for a paragraph from Norman Vincet Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking:

“…expect the best at all times.  Never think of the worst.  Drop it out of your thought, relegate it.  Let there be no thought in your mind that the worst will happen.  Avoid entertaining the concept of the worst, for whatever you take into your mind can grow there.  Therefore take the best into your mind and only that.  Nurture it, concentrate on it, emphasize it, visualize it, prayerize it, surround it with faith.  Make it your obsession.  Expect the best, and spiritually creative mind power aiided by God power wil produce the best.

Be specific.  Ask God for any right thing, but as a little child, don’t doubt.  Doubt  closes the power flow.  Faith opens it.  The power of faith is so tremendous that there is nothing that Almighty God cannot do for us, with us, or through us if we let Him channel HIs power through our minds.

I expect the best and with God’s help will attain the best.”

I give thanks for answered prayers,(and most likely these were the answers to my husband’s prayers as much if not more than mine.)

I am learning that I need to work on nurturing, concentrating, emphasizing, visualizing, obsessing and surrounding my declarations with faith!

I pray you will be determined and blessed to meet your challenges with faith and strength!

Love,

Jacque

P.S. As I close this post, I am being flooded with recognizing so many tender mercies.  Some small and simple. And then the really big ones, such as an amazing husband and supportive parents and wonderful children, and dear friends and, and…I truly won’t ever be able to list them all. xo

Surrounded by Decision

by

Hey there my friend, I surely hope you are doing well!

I’ve been working on decision-making in the form of time-blocking.  That’s the Lioness term for time-management because it sounds more like me making decisions about my time vs. trying to adhere to a pre-made management system which would just make me crazy! (I have found that I am not alone when it comes to having some stubbornness present itself when it comes to making a plan.  Even when it is our own plan, often we feel the need to rebel, let alone if we feel that the schedule we have has been put upon us as someone else’s idea!)

My challenge, as always, is that there are so many things I want to do!  But what I’ve learned from doing this for 20 years or so is that when I make a plan, I generally get much more done and get to do many of those things on my long list of interests to pursue, than if I just go with the flow.  Or maybe I could say, if I just let things happen to me and I don’t take the lead in my own life, I don’t make much progress.

Last week I thought, I’d like my home to scream “decisiveness” all over the place, from the cupboards to the flower beds!  (This thought was inspired by a pile of clutter on my counter that was reminding me of my own indecision everytime I walked by it…and the fact that I have been on quarter speed or so for awhile!)

When I set things up so that my environment supports my goals, I don’t have to pull myself up by the bootstraps every day and figure out what needs to be done next!  So really, time-blocking, or making decisions about what you will do when, means needing to make fewer decisions in the long run.  And I am so good with that.

The biggest key for making the most of your time and energy is making a few large decisions first:

What is most important to me?

What do I want to accomplish in the next ______ weeks, months or years?

Knowing the answers to those questions makes the rest of the plan a filling-in-the-blanks exercise.

If I want to have handmade gifts ready for Christmas, I’d better get them identified and broken down into what I’m going to work on when.  (This month it is finishing a granny square afghan.)

If I want to have my closet in the laundry room re-organized, I’d better decide when I’ll do it and how long it may take. (And possibly enlist moral support! Carli!!)

If I want to get back in the groove of making date nights a priority, I’d better get some planned out and start talking about them and enjoying the anticipation!

There is much that we can’t control in our day to days.  The actions and decisions of others for instance.  But when we are doing what we can to direct our own lives, we are much less likely to feel compelled to want to control people and situations that are not ours to control.  Directing my life means doing my best to multiply myself and taking advantage of the opportunities I have to multiply goodness for others.

Are there decisions you can make today that will help you take another step forward?

Sending you my love and best wishes!

Jacque