Life Coach in the Hot Seat: How I Manage My Time

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How do I manage my time and structure my day?

I usually wake up about 430am.  Without an alarm.  I quietly brush my teeth and wash my face and let the first thoughts come.  Usually it is a to do list.  I walk down my stairs to the kitchen and I make a cup of coffee.  I try my best to remain in the silence… drink it in.  I try to move about with minimal light.  

I walk to the living room and sit on my couch and I will pick up my Bible and a prayer devotion I am working.

 I have a hard time coming up with the words to pray

  so I will either pray along with the Psalms or I will help a book like “Power of a Praying Wife” guide my prayer time.  I read a chapter from the Bible – right now I am in the Book of Matthew.  I am using a bible from the Voice project that has comments from Jewish scholars that help me to read the bible not like a 21 century self centered reader but closer to how it was meant to be read – sometimes it works and I get the purity of life as not all about ME.

I will look at email and check Facebook to check out what my friends and family are up to.  The alarm goes off upstairs, first for my husband, then for my daughter.  I unplug and prepare breakfast and lunches and talk with each of them trying my hardest not to feel rushed.

Then the rush is on

Drop off at school

Rush to work

Go go go with the Primary Classroom I work in at a local Montessori school

After school program

Pick up my daughter

Head home

Dinner and an episode of “Cake Boss” or “The Middle” with family

Gym (sometimes)

Wind down

Homework

Bedtime for my daughter

Then something for the business – either creating or marketing or both

I have learned over the years with my business to try to keep it 

as clean and clear as possible.  

 For me tweeting and facebooking and networking online all hours of the day and night does not work for me and does not honor what I teach. 

 I want to be in the moment.   

If I am with you having coffee, I am not checking my phone and if I am I will let you know upfront that I will need to.  If I am on the phone I am not multitasking – which means I will not pick up the phone if I am in the middle of something.  If I am at work with my employer she does not need to tell me to put my phone away.  These choices (yep there are CHOICES and maybe not for everyone) keep me aligned with the person I choose to be and I present to the world.

What about you? 

What does your day look like?  

 Are there some routines that need to be tweaked or revamped?  Post your link below if you are a blogger and I will be sure to come by.

Life Coach in the Hot Seat: The Most Creative Present I've Ever Received

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The most creative present I’ve ever received…

The first thing that came to mind is a box of Golden Books that I received as a Christmas present.  I was about 8 years old and I loved to read.  Most of my books would come from the library.  So this was very special to me for a couple of reasons:

1.       There was a collection of about 10 or 15

2.       They were mine to keep

3.       They were my very own.  

The third reason is important to mention because I am the oldest of 4 children.  And pretty much every year due to modest resources, we would receive presents from Santa that had ALL OF OUR NAMES on the tag in the ‘to’ section.  To have a this collection all to myself… well something about it felt like I was being treated like a big kid.

                              

Years later when I would read bios of creatives who I admire, they would mention the name “Mary Blair” as someone who inspired them.    Her name came up A LOT.  One day I decided to find out who Mary Blair was.  Lo and behold she was the illustrator of many of the books in the Golden Books series, many of the ones that I remember as loved as a child. 

I picked up a treasury collection of Mary Blair’s work recently and was immediately reminded of another reason I loved this collection of books:  the illustrations.  Page after page of joy and whimsy… the things I craved and continue to pray in my quest for a fulfilling life.

What about you? 

 Share in the comments your most creative present or post a link and I will come by to check it out.

Life Coach in the Hot Seat: These Things I Know for Sure

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These things I know for sure…

Today I sit at an indoor recreation center called Amazing Jakes while my daughter and her friends enjoy this freedom of being able to hang out and have fun in a safe setting.  

 And I feel joy.  

 Joy that I have been able to give this experience to her.  Joy that I have raised a son who I have been able to give similar experiences to.   Healing in those places where I did not feel such joy as a child.  I am deeply grateful that we may not have all the answers to every problem in our lives at this particular moment but we do experience immense amounts of joy.  I experience incredible joy as a mother, as a wife and a creative, as an entrepreneur and a teacher.  

Here are some things I know for sure:

1.       You have to CHOOSE joy – life has so many unexplainable tragedies.  I have a friend right now who is helping her two year old son battle cancer.  She chooses joy.  I have questions in my life over my dad dying and not being able to see him before he died.  Family members in pain that I have no answers for though I wish I did.  Yet I CHOOSE joy

2, Your life can be FULFILLING – no matter the circumstance. You got to dig down deep.  Sometimes it take a while to feel that way but you can have a fulfilling life.  In the midst of some really difficult circumstances.

3.       God IS IN CONTROL – Even when I am in the my most What the Hell is going on state of mind. 

But it is my choice to choose joy, create a more fulfilling life, believe that God is in control.

What about you? 

What do you know for sure? 

 Leave a link from your blog in the comments OR just write your thoughts below

Joy Prayers: Look at All the Promises You have Given me

Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. 

Psalm 149:5

Lord, 

you instruct us

 to take every thought captive

 in light of the magnificent power 

given to us

 through the resurrection power of your Son Jesus.

  Holy Spirit

 counsel my mind 

as I wake up in the morning

 to watch for ways God is working in the world

 and

 give me tangible ways

 to join in with what you are doing in the world

 through my words,

 actions

 prayers

 in the midst of whatever is going on.

Release me

 from negative thought patterns

 that pull me into despair and hopelessness.   

I rebuke any harsh thoughts

 I let play in my head

 about who I am.

  You see me.

 You know me.

You know the plans you have for me.

  And You have not forgotten the promise you have given me.

I speak my promise now:  _____________________________

And as I lay down to sleep Lord
remind of how faithful you have been throughout the day 

Remind of your constant faithfulness to those around me.   

Fill my heart with the joy that reminds me of how blessed I am to call you Lord.

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Joy Prayers: The Times When I Wanted to Give Up

Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them. 

Psalm 126:6

God

you have given me seeds to sow in the Earth

through

my talents,

my time,

my energy.

I have tried to be faithful

with the work 

you have given me to do.

There are times that I have wanted to give up Lord

but

you were faithful to keep the vision alive within me.

There are times 

when I ignored the vision,

so tired of waiting for the work that was planted 

to produce a harvest.

I have become 

bitter,

envious, 

angry

yes to the point of tears sometimes,

yes to the point of wanting to give up.

And yet you were still there Lord

wiping my tears, 

helping to carry the seed to sow. 

I pray Lord 

for the returning of the harvest,

for the seeds sown 

to break out into bountiful sheaves

too numerous for me to count.

I pray God

knowing that what the seeds are producing now

is EXACTLY 

what you have planned for it to produce.

Renew my patience

as I trust that your timing is perfect. 

And your provision is always

more than I can ask or think.

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