Faiths Firm Foundation

Margin and Order…and Priorities

by Wendy on January 19, 2012

¹⁰Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might…” Ephesians 6:10
(And the following verses speak of putting on the whole armor of God, which we all need to do in order to fight these spiritual battles we are in!) 

Yes, I am still here.  And I’m ok, in fact I’m doing great!  Finding out that the earth still turns and life goes on though I have not blogged in two plus weeks.  I needed to know that. Perhaps all bloggers need a vacation sometimes–a break.  In pulling back, I maintained my sanity over Christmas.  The pull of the blog and computer, in general, needs to be balanced.  The past month has been a wonderful time of “catching up” in my real life. So many areas needed attention, either a little or a lot.

PRAYER=purging, reflection, asking questions of God, yielding, evaluation, and refocusing, that’s what I’ve been doing.  I’m looking to obtain margin and order in every area of my life.  Assessing what God’s priorities are for my life right now.

Margin is the “white space” on the “paper” of life.  I need less of all the black marks on the page:  possessions, commitments, pressure, food, and spending.  We need margin in our lives, and if we don’t plan for it, our bodies will just make it happen, one way or another.  Our bodies (minds, souls and emotions, too) can’t live without it.

And what I do have in all these areas must be managed and orderly.  I feel a deep, deep need to have my life in order.

Officially, no New Year’s Resolutions have been made. However, change and earnest resolve is taking place, praise the Lord.

• First of all, I’m getting more sleep!  That was the first thing that resulted when I didn’t feel the pressure to post something!  I guess I blogged when I should have been sleeping! I’ve slept and slept and slept!  And I’ve realized how much more productive and stable emotionally and effective for the Lord I am, how much nicer I think I am to live with, when I am rested!  Really quite amazing!  Now, if I can just get a regular bedtime (earlier), and have a morning routine (shower, dress, hair, makeup, bed made, Quiet Time) solidly in place, and get to morning devotions on time every morning:)  Thankfully, the Lord never gives up, or stops working, on me.
• Reading the Bible through in a  year has begun in earnest using this Bible-Reading Schedule, (there are three plans listed here for you to choose from–I use the third), as well as memorization (working on Isaiah 53 with our church; I think I finally have Psalm 145 down).  Praying for a heart to love His Word more, and to have a hunger and thirst for righteousness.
• People and hospitality have become more important to me.  You may say, “You were having people in your home constantly before! How could it get more important to you?”  I felt God showing me many people who I really wanted to have over, and even some who I had promised to invite, and because of other commitments, “urgent” and “must-do” events in our home and life, it never got done!  That had to change.  So, I’ve been very intentionally taking the initiative to invite and plan times together, catching up on birthday luncheons, having loads of fun with groups of young adults laughing and making music in our home, looking forward to having young couples with little babies to our home for dinner, and making absolutely sure I see and talk to my best friends–who I barely saw last year, because we were so busy!  Lord willing, I go on record that that will not happen this year.
• God gave me a zeal to work on two “temples” that need attention:  my body, the temple of the Holy Spirit, and the “temple” that my family calls home!  As to the first, while walking through a bookstore a couple of weeks ago God ordained that I see a book on the shelf that addressed and taught me to watch how many servings of carbs and grams of sugar I consume each day. In a serious intentional way, I’ve begun planning and recording what I eat which has resulted in 6 pounds lost this past week.  I don’t know if it’s because of this, but I’ve been doing more of the cooking and planning of meals than before.
• Margin and order in my home means I’m determined to go through cupboards, closets, and clothes first of all, though for now in an unsystematic way.
  
  Every day I try to put something in a state of more order, and the places that bother me the most are getting dealt with first.  So far, that has resulted in my upstairs freezer and oven cleaned out, the floor of my closet almost in order, two shelves in my upstairs pantry straightened and organized (though they won’t stay that way–it still makes me feel good:), and dozens of little corners which had been ignored too long have now been looked into.  I’m not sure anyone but me would notice.  There’s still so much to do!  I’m also attempting to use up food from my freezer and downstairs pantry, rather than going to the grocery store.  I’m making plans of organizing other areas after that.  It’s really the same principle, gain more margin and order in my life.  There’s so much more to do, that I can’t see when I will be stopping or get “done.” But, I’m excited at the progress.
• Plans are in place for completing and crossing off “To-Do” items that have been on my list for months, freeing my mind to be able to think better–decluttering my brain!  I keep throwing away and sorting, planning systems of organization, moving things around, storing them differently, trying to have a sense of being on top of things again.  Just seeing progress in my home: decluttering, organizing, and getting rid of, feels very good!

I’m determined that the hidden spaces of my home will receive my attention!!  I will get rid of, give away or put back in an orderly fashion what I keep.  I am on a mission! And I don’t want to lose momentum.

And that’s why you haven’t seen me here.  When I’ve finally been able to be really focused and have an urgency that, “I’ve got to do something about this now!!”  I know that it’s something that the Lord desires me to do for His glory, and I have to become single-minded and push away any distractions in order to see it through to completion!

Many new thoughts and feelings have come, for instance, no desire to blog (for the first time in almost 3 years!). I don’t know what the Lord is planning for me to do.  I just need to put some things higher up where I can see them:  My family, my home, stewardship of my body, being a good testimony in how I handle my responsibilities…

I’ll post when God moves me, or I specifically sense there’s something I’m supposed to say.  Please stay in touch through comments and on facebook.  Love you all and miss you!

Thanks for reading Faith’s Firm Foundation!

Leave me a comment, so I can get back to you.
Come back daily for more encouragement, tips, and
practical help being a wife and mom.
www.wendygunn.net

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Giveaway of Purposeful Planning

by Wendy on January 1, 2012

Giveaway closed

Well, I know everyone is still getting back into life after Christmas. Since there were no entries in the giveaway, there is no winner to announce, and I’ll talk to Phyllis and we’ll decide if we’ll do the giveaway at a later time or not.

Linked up today with the Homemaking Linkup at Raising Homemakers–join in!

There are a lot of great posts to read, and you can linkup your own!

Enter my

Giveaway

now to win the

New and revised: Purposeful Planning – E-Book

and Dan’s Doodles

It’s the time of year for setting goals and thinking about the future, things you’d like to do differently next year, making “resolutions” perhaps…planning.  I like to spend time thinking and praying, and not dive into anything.  I also like to do this several times a year.  For one example, I used to do “school-year planning” before our homeschool year began, and then I again would evaluate and take stock, setting new goals in January.

Would you like to be more intentional about where you’re headed, what you want to accomplish, and the goals you set? Would you think it a dream to sit down with your husband and really have his ear, and discuss your dreams, and goals? Would you like to include your family, and at least talk about how you’d like to see things be different?  Here is a great ebook by my dear friend, Phyllis Sather, that will help you and your family, called Purposeful Planning.  Phyllis has generously offered one copy for this giveaway, and also a copy of her husband’s popular “Dan’s Doodles”!  Read on for descriptions of each, and how to enter!

Purposeful Planning

Phyllis says:

This issue still contains all of our original material, but with the help and encouragement from our faithful readers and people who have put these methods into practice in their own families we have added even more suggestions and ideas.

We have also added more thought provoking questions to help you to relate well to each other and your children.

The goal is still the same: to discover the Lord’s plan for your family.

Does having your spouse’s undivided attention appeal to you? Planning weekends give you time to dream, to talk together about what you wish, or want, at a time when the other person is really listening.

Do you need a plan to keep your family moving in the direction the Lord is leading you? Perhaps you don’t know where the Lord is leading you. Phyllis takes you step-by-step through the process of planning a time together for your family to help determine the path the Lord is choosing for each area of your life. Her family has followed this format for over 12 years and has found that it provides the compass they’ve needed to plan and stay on course.

This time-tested method of planning will give your family new direction for the future. Start today! Choose the dates for your planning weekend, read her book which has the entire “how to” included, and go for it!

Finally, help to discover the Lord’s plan for your family.

Dan’s Doodles

For years my husband has been doodling every time he has to sit and listen for any length of time – sermons, teachings, school. One time our pastor thought he was taking great notes, until he saw his doodling. Over the years, 24 in July, I’ve come to think of it as art.

After posting some of them on my website several people suggested that they would make a great coloring book – so here it is! ! I’ve included a dozen of my favorite doodles in this first edition.

Reviews:

“Wow, I can’t believe this guy just doodles these kinds of pictures! Dan’s Doodles are very intricate, so not for the younger child, but tweens and up would have lots of fun coloring the designs. I also think it would spark the creativity of the artistic child to try and draw like this. Kelly”

“My 7 year old son and my 10 year old daughter both enjoyed these delightful doodles. The intricate designs lend themselves to long coloring sessions…perfect for long car trips or other “waiting” times. Fun enough to do more than once. Deb” 

How To Enter To Win

Mandatory:  Follow Faith’s Firm Foundation via Google Friend Connect.  If you already follow FFF, then it’s mandatory that you go to Proclaiming God’s Faithfulness (Phyllis’ blog) and follow her (www.phyllis-sather.com).  If right now you follow neither of us, then choose one of the two (or both) and follow and don’t forget to leave a comment for each thing you do!

One Additional Entry Each:

1. Share a goal or new year’s resolution in a comment (one that you would allow me to share with my readers as an example in a future post on goals, planning and the new year).

2. If you have not already done so, subscribe to Faith’s Firm Foundation via RSS or subscribe via email.

3. Visit Phyllis’ blog and go to her bookshop and tell me which item you would like to own and why.

This giveaway is open to all, and will close on January 7, 2012 at 11:59pm.  I will draw and announce the winner here on January 9, 2012.

Subscribe and don’t miss a single post.
Like my page on Facebook to receive a free copy of
“Ten Things To Make Your Children Mind.”

Thanks for reading Faith’s Firm Foundation!

Leave me a comment, so I can get back to you.
Come back daily for more encouragement, tips, and
practical help being a wife and mom.
www.wendygunn.net

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Merry CHRISTmas!

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Posting At the Well Today on How to Teach Your Children to Be Thankful at Christmas