Deliberate Contemplation

Yesterday I enjoyed a little outdoors. I pulled a few weeds from around some of the vegetable plants, and took pleasure in the fresh air, good dirt, and sunshine. I didn’t pull nearly all the weeds, but a few of the larger offenders anyway, and more for enjoyment versus actually making any progress. It was truly to take a break from my busy day.

The great outdoors, the quiet, the peace – I love it! Certainly not a luxury I experience often. Hectic schedules, multitasking to get everything done, and electronic intrusions (smartphones) are more the norm around here, and I suspect for most people anyway. Life is so busy and fast-paced. And it’s really a shame.

I wonder what all this busy-ness is doing to our kids. With all the technology, gadgets, and devices they are growing up with, will they even know how to relax? Fully scheduled calendars, vibrating smartphones, uploading photo’s to Facebook, and doing homework between texts is unfortunately our kids “normal.” Certainly all this new technology makes being connected much easier, but what’s it doing for our downtime? Do our kids even have any downtime?

It is good to slow down, and even stop now and then. To be quiet. Listen. Observe. And to feel connected.

The story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42 says it best:

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

I confess, if Jesus were my guest, I would probably be more like Martha. Jesus is here, I would think, I must prepare a magnificent meal. And only the best would do. I would get busy searching my pantry and garden for the freshest foods available. I’d wash the fine china to serve the meal. Then I’d cook, using only the finest ingredients. And like Martha, I’d be very jealous of my sister, who wasn’t helping, but chose instead to spend time with Jesus.

But that’s just it. Mary chose to spend time with Jesus. And it’s our choice too what we do with our time. Perhaps we should learn from Mary, and let go of our anxiousness and troubles, our busy and hectic lifestyles, and listen for and draw closer to God. Throughout his life, even Jesus took time to be alone in prayer. Sending his disciples ahead of him or retreating to a mountain, He would often withdraw to pray. His life is an example of how we are to live ours.

Today’s lifestyle doesn’t lend well to teaching our kids how to slow down or relax. Rather it’s all about multitasking and achieving more in less time. So as parents, it’s up to us to live our lives as examples. This means spending less time worrying over what is left to be done, and more time in stillness and deliberate contemplation. Not an easy task in everyday life, but one well worth the effort.

Passing the Time

But what minutes!  Count them by sensation, and not by calendars, and each moment is a day.  

~Benjamin Disraeli

It is true that time passes quicker when you keep busy.

Here's a little of what we have done these past few weeks that has helped make the time pass while my daughter has been away at Girl Scout camp. A pictoral review.

We danced!

 

Sometimes a little crazy . . .

Grace helped make a funny commercial!

Good high kick!

 Doing her bo staff kata.

A new belt earned! Way to go.

It's been a quick couple weeks, yet long too, and I am very much looking forward to my daughter's return home! I can't wait to see her and hear about her trip.

Christmas International House - Day 9; Stressing

Day 9
I hate to whine, really I do, but I’m afraid that’s what's happening today. It’s back to another tension filled short holiday work week. Another short time span to get the full week of hours in – yea me.  What’s more, I even plan to take one workday off this week to partake in the CIH program activities.

Since I’m shortening my 3 ½ day work week to 2 ½ - 3 days, I start work today around 7:00 a.m., stopping only to take Ren Zhe to the drop off point, then back to work. I’m happy today’s program includes both a lunch and dinner for the students at different churches, freeing me to work a little later.

The International students take a Blue Bell Creamery tour, then spend a fun-filled day riding go-karts, playing mini-golf, and more.  The church hosting their evening meal provides Mexican food and a piñata for the students to break open afterward. Ren Zhe brings home a piece of candy for both my daughters from the piñata.

While I love the CIH program, I wonder about future participation as it feels we’ve been so busy. And since I feel I’ve been neglecting the kids, I’m very grateful for the Wii the kids received at Christmas. Hmm. Not feeling like a good mother.

Wordless Posting - Pics of Live Nativity

Live Nativity - A Holiday Stress Buster

Continuing with the theme of my last post, I offer this as a holiday stress buster. While true this is still something to do, it's meant to result in your taking the time to reflect on the true meaning of this season. And it's fun and free, and the weather looks to be perfect.

Woodforest Presbyterian Church hosts its annual live nativity, tonight, between 6-8pm. It's your chance to dress as a shepherd or angel and participate. The stage is set for the holiest of nights, complete with stable, live animals, Mary, Joseph and the babe. Refreshments are served.

Woodforest Presbyterian Church is located at 15330 Wallisville Road, at the corner of Black Rock and Wallisville in Houston, Texas.

Perhaps one of the best ways to bust the stress of the season is to be intentional. Read this "Holidays or Holy Days" post by our church pastor, and please share your stress busting thoughts in the comments.

Holiday Stress

So recently, I have felt like a rubber band pulled taut to the nearly breaking point. It's so chaotic and busy this time of year, it's hard to find peace and tranquility. While the music sings "silent night" and "all is calm," I'm frantically on my way somewhere to pick up or do something. And it's not just shopping. It's parties, and school events, and work, and cooking, and . . . . I keep telling myself that if I can just make it past this milestone, the course is sure to get easier. But it doesn't. Or at least, it hasn't. I still believe it will.


My blogging has fallen off a little with all the busyness of the season, and I plan to finish the year with a few "favorites" posts. Like favorite books read this year, favorite blogs to read, maybe even favorite holiday activities or traditions, so stay tuned.

Question for you...
How do you cope with the busyness of this season?

Ever Deserve the Bad Parent Award?

Parenting is hard work, and we all make mistakes. This week, I truly earned and I deserve the bad parent award. Let me tell you what happened.

It was late arrival day for middle school, but instead of sleeping in, my daughter had Girl Scouts. I dropped her off for her meeting, and then headed home. She left her backpack in the car so she would have it for school, and I left the garage door open when I got home since it was a quick turnaround. I only had about an hour before I needed to leave to pick up her cousin for school, and then back to the Girl Scout meeting to get my daughter.

Once home, I settled in for a chat with my mother-in-law, who is visiting from Boston. We made a fresh pot of coffee and enjoyed talking about various current events as reported on the morning news. Then I retreated to my office to begin my day, starting as I usually do by responding to email. Gradually I finished that up, and began making my new business calls.

I could hear my mother-in-law moving about and getting ready to take the dog on a walk. She got the leash out and the dog jumped around in excitement. The home phone rang a time or two, but as always, I let those calls go to machine since I was on my business line and on client time.

Later, I took a quick shower to get ready for a lunch out with my mother-in-law. It was in the shower that it dawned on me. I FORGOT THE KIDS! I jumped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around me, and ran down the hall dripping wet. "I forgot the kids," I yelled repeatedly.

My mother-in-law must have thought I was a nut, standing there dripping with only a towel, but I had to find out right away if they made it to school. Fortunately, my sister had plumbing problems that morning, so she was home from work and took her son to school (sorry to say that was fortunate, Sis, but they say things happen for a reason). My own daughter was dropped off at school by the Girl Scout leader, who also kindly gave her paper, pen, and lunch money (remember, her backpack was in my car).

What a horrible mom to forget her kids. I felt awful, and still do. When I dropped the backpack at school, my daughter's first words were, "Where were you?" She was so upset. I apologized, but what could I say? It was stupidity and forgetfulness on my part. While she was clearly displeased, she did seem to forgive me somewhat when she heard that I had forgotten her cousin too. At least it wasn't just her I forgot!

I had worried everyone, and for this I am truly sorry. I have no excuse, although some say it is because I keep too busy a schedule.

I love my children so very much, and would never do anything to hurt them. So, how bad a mom am I? I honestly can't think of much worse than forgetting to pick up your kid. How long before I can reclaim good mom status? Has anything like this happened with you? Please share your stories in the comments.

How to Manage Multiple Social Networking and Communications Accounts

Social networking is all the rage, and if you're like me, you've jumped onto the social networking bandwagon and signed up for sites like Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. You probably have at least one, if not more, IM accounts, and multiple email accounts too for personal use, work, or hobbies. It's fun to be connected and to so easily share information.

But there is a downside, a huge drawback, and that is how overwhelming it is to manage all the conversations. Whew! It's enough to make your head spin.

Well, I'm happy to share with you an excellent tool I found to help manage all the social sites (OK, it was my friend Victor who found the tool, a fellow writer and Producer/Director). The tool is called Digsby and it's great!

No, I'm not being reimbursed or compensated in any way for mentioning Digsby. It just helps me out so much that I have to share it with my readers. (I previously posted on handling twitter tweets, Handling all those Twitter Tweets – TweetDeck versus Seesmic and will try to share more helpful/handy tools as they are discovered).

Digsby very nicely ties everything together for you so that you don't have to spend all your time logging in and out of accounts and checking for updates yourself. It merges various IM accounts into one manager, alerts you of new events in your social networking sites, and manages multiple email accounts as well. And it's free!

With some very handy icons on my bottom right toolbar, I can glance down at any time and see if new mail has arrived or if there are message alerts on my social sites. With a click, I can open an email or delete one, set my facebook status, IM my buddy, and more. You can visit the site and download Digsby here.

Digsby is a great tool that I highly recommend. What are some of the tools you use for handling all your social sites and communications?

A Sense of Accomplishment - One Task at a Time

My mother always told me to make sure I accomplished one thing a day, whatever the task, but usually always something house related. I used to follow her advice. But in recent years, it seems I had forgotten that piece of wisdom.

Recently though, something caused me to conjure back that memory, and I've put it back into practice. It works. I truly do feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in getting just one thing completed each day. I’m not a week into this yet, but so far I've:

• Scoured the bathrooms, including washing the baseboards and woodwork
• Cleaned the stovetop
• Washed the baseboard in the foyer and living room
• Dusted and polished the old piano
• Rotated the mattress on the bed

Back in our DINK days (Double Income No Kids), my husband and I hired a housekeeper to clean our home every two weeks. We got that “whole house clean at one time feeling” and it was great. But with kids, work, and obligations of life, I’ll settle for the one thing a day routine. It works pretty well. Thanks Mom!

What are your tricks and tips on getting things done? What gives you a sense of accomplishment?

Time Management Tools Needed

Help, please!

Lately, I've been pulled in multiple directions. Between the kids, part-time job, contract work, blog creation and writing assignments, work on my novel, my husband's cleaning business, girl scout leader responsibilities, and editing the church newsletter, I barely have time for housework, reading, or _______ (fill in the blank - just about anything else fits here). I look back and wonder, how did I used to handle a full load? And I ponder, how do others do it?

I remember when I worked for AT&T Microelectronics years ago, I utilized a Day-Runner calendar and time management system. It was a paper system, but it worked, only now I would prefer something electronic. My Palm Zire 31 (older model without telephone) is great for contact and calendaring functions, but I haven't utilized the tasks portion of the device. I'm going to give it a try.

What's out there for time management solutions, and what works well? Your ideas and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

* Photo courtesy of bigfoto.com.

____________________
UPDATE:
I read the blog Rants & Ramblings by Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent. She posted a great article on time management. Her article is not about the tools to use for time management, but rather the importance of continually prioritizing. Enjoy!

Five Things I Hope to Accomplish This Summer

Fun related:

• A Trip to Disney World – This is something I've talked about summer after summer. Our last visit was just after 9/11, the park was empty – no lines, no wait. But the kids were too young to remember. It's way past time for another Disney vacation.

Writing related:

• Work on my Novel – Get at least half-way through the rewrite of my novel, Hope and Faith. The Humble Fiction Café writers' group classes for our Six Month Novel Project (6MoNo) will be completed. No more excuses!

• Write one short story and post to my blog. This is part of my New Year's Resolutions.

House related:

• Wash the windows on the front and sides of the house. I recently did the back windows and they look so much better!

• Organize and clean out my office. Perhaps a better name for my office would be multi-purpose room, as it serves as my day job office, writing space, and sewing area (lol – as though I sew). It also contains the household record-keeping area, bill-paying site, reference books, and the piano. It has a tendency to collect material, and needs a thorough organization/cleaning.

What's on your agenda for the summer?

Psalm 100 for a 100th Post

This is my 100^th post to my WordProverb blog, which started back in June of 2007 with a post about our too busy lives. Many musings later, and still busier than ever, I'm tickled with the wonderful ride this blog has provided. Thank you for your readership, and for contributing your thoughts and comments. I hope you'll join me for another 100 posts.

A Psalm for giving thanks
In confirmation classes at our church, my daughter must pick out and share with her class one of her favorite Psalms. I like Psalms 100, and what better time to share it than with my 100^th post.

Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

Do you have a favorite Psalm I can share with my daughter?

Insomnia

Last night, I tossed and turned fitfully before succumbing to insomnia. Even though the rain typically produces a lulling melody that makes sleep come easy, I was too excited and in a state of agitation and worry. Finally, I got up and headed for the word processor.

First, the excitement. Recently Dorlana Vann of Humble Fiction Café gave an informative presentation on pacing and tension, and I am delighted to be reading a book that vividly reflects those teachings. More on the book in a review once it's finished.

Through Dorlana's lesson, I realized how important constant tension is to the overall enjoyment of a book. The writer not only has to make the reader care about the character and what happens to him or her, but be concerned about what happens next. When the character has overcome one challenge, the next adversity must already be set up. The presentation was very insightful.

As far as the agitation and worry, I love to blog, but of recent, my blog postings have fallen off in frequency. Partly due to my incredibly busy life, but I also wonder where to go with the blog. I feel like it's time to notch it up a bit, take it to the next level, but how and what is that?

And if it isn't enough that I've let my blogging posts fall off, I have been equally remiss in setting aside sufficient writing time for my novel. Oh, I'm working on it. Slowly. I complain about not having the time to work on the novel, yet I realize we all have the same amount of time – 24 hours each day. What we do with that time is what counts. My fault is in not making writing a higher priority.

In a nutshell, my worries stem around writing and the goals I've set for myself for this year.

I may or may not do a facelift on the blog. It hasn't been so long ago that I gave the blog a new look, but I am thinking about exploring a three-column layout. The reason is so that I can post my 2009 writing goals in plain view as a continual reminder of the things I hope to accomplish this year, and for my readers to hold me accountable. I want people to ask how the novel is progressing and keep me to task.

How are you doing with your goals for this year?
Do you think it is helpful to have your goals in front of you on a constant basis?
Is it helpful for others to know your goals?

NaNoWriMo Here I Come

I've done it and I'm so excited… and nervous. I've registered for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)!

Like last year, I don't have the time. And believe me, I've debated as to whether I should do this or not. But unlike last year, no more excuses! I feel like if I don't do this now, I just may never write a novel.

Last year's decision not to do NaNoWriMo was tough. And yes, while my month of November was certainly easier as a result, I did have regrets. So I'm going to bite the bullet this year, and just do it. Anyone else who is participating or wants to participate, please be my writing buddy. Look for sheryltut in the Authors section.

In my final few days before NaNoWriMo kicks off, I'm looking for tips and tricks for success. Here is a blog posting that I found helpful and wanted to share.

Paperback Writer: Pro-to-NaNo: "Pro-to-NaNo
Twenty Bits of Advice from a Pro for the New NaNo'er"

My blog posts may fall off in frequency this coming month, but I will get back to blogging as fast as I can. Do stop by the blog anyway, as I plan to add a word count widget. I appreciate everyone's support (and thank you Chrissa for the "Go Sheryl Go, You Can NaNo!" cheerleading card)!

Good luck to everyone participating. Please remember to add me as a writing buddy. Experienced NaNo'er's? Please put your words of wisdom in comments!

September Happenings

I've been a little slow with my blog postings since August vacation and then back to school. I am happy to say that life is beginning to settle down and fall into a routine, so hopefully the posts will get back to a more regular schedule.

In the meantime, I wanted to share with you some of my plans for September posts. First, be watching for a review of the book The Faith of Barack Obama by Stephen Mansfield. I received a free book at From Where I Sit, which is the blog of Michael S. Hyatt, Thomas Nelson Publishers President & CEO. In return, I agreed to post a 200-word minimum book review on my blog. What a great marketing concept for book authors.

I mentioned in a previous post that I was working on a very late letter writing short-story project for my writers group, Humble Fiction Café. I am happy to report that I should have a rough draft ready soon. Once critiqued by the group, I will make it available to read. It's been a challenge as I am attempting genre that I have not written before. We will see how it works and I'll look forward to your comments as well.

Finally, one of my daughter's teachers shared a poem with me entitled Unity, by Cleo V. Swarat. I'd like to share it with you.

Unity
Cleo V. Swarat

I dreamed I stood in a studio
And watched two sculptors there,
The clay they used was a young child's mind
And they fashioned it with care.

One was a teacher:
the tools she used were books and music and art;
One was a parent
With a guiding hand and gentle loving heart.

And when at last their work was done,
They were proud of what they had wrought.
For the things they had worked into the child
Could never be sold or bought!

And each agreed she would have failed
if she had worked alone.
For behind the parent stood the school,
and behind the teacher stood the home!

The Best Time to Relax

"The best time to relax is when you don't have the time."

The best time to relax is when you don't have the time. I don't know about you, but I don't have the time - most of the time.

Everyone seems to be very busy these days. We feel tugged between work, maintaining a home, shopping, cooking, errands, the kids' activities, and various other responsibilities and commitments. Truthfully, who has time left to relax? On my busiest and most scheduled days, I run through life at full throttle, so fast and furious I find I even talk faster than usual. What about you?

The best time to relax is when you don't have the time. I got this quote from a church marquee. It's truly a quote worth contemplating since it's through relaxation and rest that we refresh the soul and rejuvenate the spirit – a recharge that is critically needed in our most demanding and hectic moments. Nothing or no one continues at peak performance and indefinitely without stopping on occasion. Even God took time to rest (Genesis 2:2).

The best time to relax is when you don't have the time. I hope you will join me in trying hard to slow down and take that needed downtime. While this won't be easy because of all the real and perceived demands of our time, it's certainly an effort worth waging. What ideas or suggestions do you have for finding the time to relax?

Goodreads

If you are like me, you like to read. But you're busy, and nothing is more frustrating than wasting time reading a not-so-good book. It's a rarity when I put a book down as unreadable, but there have been many books I've finished that I've wished I had. Or better still, I wished I hadn't even bothered starting. And so now I'm a member of Goodreads.

At Goodreads, reader reviews are available for books that you place in one of three default bookshelves… "read," "currently-reading," or " to-read." It is customizable in that you can add or modify your bookshelves, but these are the defaults and they have suited me well.

Any time I hear of a good book, or I read a good review from a friend, I can immediately place the book in my "to-read" bookshelf, which is a great feature. Later, when I am ready to make a new book purchase, or even if someone asks for my book preferences, I have a complete list of books that I know I want to read.

"Currently-reading" is where I put books that I am reading, but haven't yet finished. From there, once the book is finished, it is very easy to move it over to the "read" bookshelf and add a review. I have found the reviews on each book to be so helpful in determining whether I want to read a book, so I always make sure to add my review to the books I finish.

Another thing to like about Goodreads is the friends network. Friends are people that you know that can see your reviews, what you've read and are reading, etc. Even better, Goodreads lets you set automatic email updates when your friends have added books or reviews. What better way is there to hear about a book and then be able to add it to your "to-read" list? Word-of-mouth from someone you know and trust is the best!

Anyway, that's why I'm a member of Goodreads. I hope you also have an opportunity to check it out! And if you have read Split by the Humble Fiction Café, please don't forget to add your review.

CHAOS SHOPPING

Chaos shopping, that's what I call shopping on the day after Thanksgiving, is as much a tradition for me as having noodles on Thanksgiving Day. It supposed to be there, it should happen, but if it's missing for some reason, well, the day does go on.

It is with pleasure I set my alarm on Thanksgiving night for an early morning wake-up. Armed with sales circulars, I quietly get ready and exit the house careful not to wake the slumbering. I used to head out on my own, getting more and more charged with each purchase. Since moving to Texas, now I go out with my sister, and it is fast becoming one of my favorite shopping days ever.

Along with the satisfaction of making a huge dent in my Christmas shopping, I also get to spend quality time with my sister. Even though the stores are mobbed and the lines are long, we find precious time to visit. And we always further enhance the day by dining out for lunch. We talk about our families, our hopes, our worries.

In our fast-paced, too busy lives, if nothing more, our annual day after Thanksgiving shopping trek gives us an excuse and an opportunity to spend time together merrily and guilt-free. After all, we are accomplishing some major shopping efforts while we get together and have our fun. While sales are oftentimes now offered during the whole weekend following Thanksgiving and are certainly offered online, I would hate to see our newly created tradition of chaos shopping end. Here's to another fun and successful year of chaos shopping! Happy Thanksgiving!

Good Luck NoNoWriMo Participants!

They're off! It's official! The race has begun!

NaNoWriMo kicked off at 12:01am last night. I wish all of my participating colleagues and friends much luck. These writer friends will have more accomplished in one month than I've been able to achieve… well, ever. I wish everyone a huge success in getting their stories written.

As you have probably surmised, I am not participating again this year. I hope not to regret the decision, but I couldn't find sufficient time in my schedule to write a 50,000 word novel this month, and I didn't want to set myself up for failure. I've been told this exercise is about finding the time. Well, I'm open to that, but we do still have to be realistic with our expectations.

Between running family members to and from work, school, soccer games, soccer practice, karate lessons, gymnastics lessons, gymnastics competitions, writers group meetings, girl scout meetings, and other events such as math club, choir, church, church Christmas play practice, 40 hours or more work each week for my employer and more, I don't have daytimes or one evening in a week free, nor are the weekends much better. I already begin my weekdays with the clock set for 4:30am in order to get done everything that needs my attention.

This isn't written for sympathy, and its intent is not whining. Rather, I am convincing myself of the sanity in this decision and hope to warrant off future feelings of regret.

Good luck to all the NaNoWriMo participants!

NaNoWriMo Here I Come, Or Not?

Three weeks and counting. That's how long we have until NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), which begins November 1 and ends midnight, November 30. Participants have one month in which to write a 50,000 word novel from start to finish. It's an event geared to get writers' writing. And I know it works.

So my dilemma starts now. Do I participate? Or not?

I can't imagine the dedication, focus, and TIME it must require to finish a 50,000 word novel in just one month. I'm already so stretched for time that I sometimes wonder which way is up. I'm setting my alarm clock earlier and earlier each morning just to get in my required hours for my employer. I spend my evenings racing this one to that affair, and that one to this function. And I mean race. We eat fast, drive fast, and sometimes I think I even talk fast. Seems like there is never a minute to spare.

But I've always, always wanted to try my hand at writing a book. If I wait for a good time, a slower time, it just may never happen. We all know that time keeps getting faster and faster the older you get (isn't that true?).

Anyway, that's my dilemma and I have three remaining weeks to sort it out. Three weeks to decide if I want to add to the already so crazy schedule I have timers going off throughout the day reminding me what's next. So, you'll either see me around during the month of November, or not. NaNoWriMo here I come, or not?