Works for Wednesday

Work=activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.

Ergon (Greek word): deed, doing, labor, work. From a primary (but obsolete) ergo (to work); toil (as an effort or occupation); by implication, an act — deed, doing, labour, work.

John 6:27-29

“Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”

Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”

Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

I read this passage and walked away wondering…Am I trying to make this so complicated? Am I trying to find a formula or isolate those areas that “work” for me rather than keeping it as simple as believing in Him? Maybe, just maybe, it’s more of a risk in trust to venture confidently with belief rather than reason, logic and oh, yes…experiences or what’s worked in the past. I don’t want to get what I’ve always gotten…I want to let Him take me places that go beyond what I can ask or imagine.

Just a few rough-edged thoughts…what do you think?

What IS working?

Sure, I can go through my list of what has NOT been working (speaking rashly, going to bed way too late turned not getting up early to go running, getting places on time, being on the computer too much, and the list goes on), but where does that get me? Usually…discouraged, frustrated, trying to do it myself. Not a good place.

So, in the midst of my crying out, God gave me a little reminder tucked away in my journal written in orange highlighter:

And that,right there, is where I’m choosing to turn my focus today.

What’s working: journaling, days at work, seeing joy in the little things, adventures

From here, I’m going to keep finding out what’s working, do some more of that, fill in the gaps where I can, and mostly lean on Him to give me the strength because He sure does tell me that I can do nothing without Him.

And while I’m at it since I’m a words girl…I’ll keep singing:

“Cause even in the dark you can still see the light”

“I don’t want to go one more day without your all consuming passion inside of me. Just okay is not enough.”

“It’s joy unspeakable”

“Hey now, this is my desire, consume me like a fire cause I just want something beautiful to touch me.”

So, how are you doing today? What’s working for you? What are you listening to?

The Male Factor

Men. Women. Working together. Throw in a few personality twists and you’re bound to have connections, clashes and work.  Shaunti Feldhahn, author of For Women Only, recently came out with her new book about “the unwritten rules, misperceptions, and secret beliefs of men in the workplace.”  She addresses many issues and especially perceptions of men toward women in the workplace.

Does your male coworker know what to do if you start crying? What about that personal issue you are trying to talk about? How can you work together effectively and communicate clearly?

Women dive into the workplace not always knowing how to swim and not just tread water.  Check out the book for some insights and things to ponder.  Even if you’re not in the “workplace,” you still interact daily with men.  Let me know what you think! Have you read it? Thoughts? Want to read it? Here are some quotes I found interesting:

“This is a great time to be a woman in business.”

“In a man’s mind, it is as if there are two different worlds: ‘Work World’ and ‘Personal World.'”

“I found that the assumption that ’emotion’ means ‘you are not thinking’ is nearly universal among men.”

So…what do men perceive as emotional in the first place? becoming tearful, getting upset or defensive too easily, overreacting, jumping to conclusions, holding strong opinions/refusing to be swayed.

Little things to do: get to the point, don’t overreact, and let it go.

Men’s top advice for women in the workplace: Be competent and you’ll do well, just be yourself and confident in who you are, or you’re respected; keep up the great work.

Purchase here!

*This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Swazi in Bullets

• Painted the Community Center
• Cleared a man’s yard and created a garden area
• Cleared yards on the Upper Houses (raked leaves, raked pine needles, collected rocks, dug drainage trenches)
• Painted two Chacaranda (sp?) houses
• visited ABC ministries (adorable little kids!!!)
• Ate dinner and hung out at the Welcome Center (where the kids go before they are placed in a home) and at a Chacaranda house
• Played card games (fill or bust, 13, phase 10, rummy, billionaire)
• Made lots of fires in the fire place
• Went to the Orion (Mongo’s for dinner, delicious pizza, milkshakes, swimming, sauna, car adventure to find some waterfalls…didn’t get to see  them, dessert!, Kelly’s birthday!)
• Ate a ton of pb & honey since the jelly did not taste good
• Songs: Where You Are by Marc Broussard, Airplane Song by Stephen Speaks, On a Night Like This by Dave Barnes
• Played with ABC kids on an afternoon off
• Making oatmeal in the morning and getting up early and soaking in time with Him
• Swimming
• Going to a nearby village and wearing traditional dress and dancing
• Climbing the tallest mountain in Swazi
• Taking fun jumping photos
• Going on Safari
• Camping outside
• Seeing a creepy creepy creepy python…yuck!
• Seeing rhinos, elephants, lions, and hippos!
• Long car rides with happy, summery music

New Page

I added a new page up at the top: “Blogger Mission Trip.”  Check it out!  Or click here and check it out.  More thoughts to come 🙂

A Few Points to Ponder

I’ve read some great posts lately so I thought I would share:

How many more coffee cups are being thrown away today??

I’m skipping along in life without stopping to search for and see the beauty within.

I haven’t felt “safe” with someone for a while.

I am so thankful that I have a great culture to go to each day.

I am not content.  Time to shake things up a bit.

Ragamuffintop Challenge Week 1

With the official start of June 2 minutes ago, I’m completely up for a new challenge.  I’ve been reading Ragamuffin Soul for a while now and decided this could be a fun little thing to participate in.  Here are the rules:

1. You must have a measurable goal.

2. You must place a photo or video on your blog each weekend and give us the scoop on how you did.
3. You must link back here so that the readers of your blog get to see how the rest of us are failing or succeeding.
4. You fill out the linky thing below and then people can get to your blog from my front page and we can cheer each other on.

 

 

I don’t own a scale nor do I necessarily want to…(I’m a bit obsessive sometimes–not good).  So I won’t be going that route.  Instead, I’ve got a few measurable things that I’m going to work on.  

 

Now in the pictures these pants look fine, but let me tell you…they are a bit tight–too tight to wear for 8 hours at work.  I’m a BIG fan of comfy clothes so simply put I don’t wear uncomfortable things pretty much ever.  So the main goal will be to be able to fit comfortably in these again 🙂  Along with this goal I want to be able to participate in a triathlon if I decided to do so toward the end of summer.  I haven’t figured out a way to train for the swimming part yet.  The rest is measurable.  13 miles of biking and 3.1 miles of running.  Lastly, another subset goal is to complete the Biggest Loser 6 week program.  I have gone through 4 weeks of cardio and just gave in and bought the power sculpt dvd as well.  So I want to do the cardio 4 times a week and the power sculpt 3 times a week.  Yikes, who knew there could be so many things to do!  Here we go!  

p.s. I’m planning on posting a “why am I doing this” blog soon 🙂

Bedtime!

I have SO many things I want to write about and share, but silly work and sleep are calling my name.  I don’t have any “plans” for tomorrow night so hopefully I’ll get to some of these blog ideas.  Until then…go read Philippians 2:1-11…aw, plus I love the verses after that especially 14 so read it all!May your night be filled with joy and rest! 

Holy Club

The members of John Wesley’s Holy Club asked themselves these questions each day in their private devotions:

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I hypocrite?

2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?

3. Do I confidently pass on to another what I was told in confidence?

4. Can I be trusted?

5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?

6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?

7. Did the Bible live in me today?

8. Do I give it time to speak to me everyday?

9. Am I enjoying prayer?

10. When did I last speak to someone else of my faith?

11. Do I pray about the money I spend?

12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?

13. Do I disobey God in anything?

14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscious is uneasy?

15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?

16. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?

17. How do I spend my spare time?

18. Am I proud?

19. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisee who despised the publican?

20. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard?

21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?

22. Is Christ real to me?