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About This Blog
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| I know your time is valuable and I hope to make each of your visits here meaningful. I’ve been in the organizing business for a decade and people everywhere tell me they feel utterly overwhelmed. What’s the solution? Quick tips and tricks are so appealing in the moment, but they leave us disillusioned and just as disorganized as ever. That’s why you won’t find them on my blog…instead I want to bring you inspiration to take back your life. Life is short, let's strive together to reclaim the things that really matter.
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Monday, March 8th, 2010
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| The Finer Points |
"Mommy, I want THOSE pens! They're MINE." (Three year old toddler.)
"No, Nash, they are mine. I just put all the pens together in the same bin. So I can see why you thought they were your pens. But these other big magic markers are yours. And these fine point pens are mine. And so are these calligraphy pens." (The down side of "grouping like things together.)
"But Mommy, those pens have been in there FOREVER. And they're MINE!" (The law of posession.)
"Nash, you can have all these other pens. But Mommy's pens are going to get ruined if I give them to you now. Remember how you smashed the tips of the other pens in your art kit? These tips are the same. I will let you play with them when you're ready to handle them." (Looking for a place to hide Mommy's pens.)
Melt down.
Comforting.
Whining.
Explaining.
Slowing down.
Distracting.
Forgetting.
Smiling.
Quietly. "Nash, Mommy has to wait for some things too." (Realizing that this message on the "finer points" was really for me.)
"OK, Mommy, can I have some chocolate?"
And now I know why I haven't been handed some of the things I wanted in life, too. So I'm preparing my life to be ready to be trusted with the finer things, too.
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Thursday, February 18th, 2010
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| Will You Serve in the Kitchen? |
So I haven't blogged in a while. That's because my mind has been overflowing with things to say and I'm in the process of sorting them out. And I promised you that I wouldn't blog just to hit a "recommended target" of blogging or just to blather. Suffice it to say (for now) that my vision for Restoring Order is expanding. And it's very exciting.
My dear Friend (capital "F" friend - the kind that comes early, stays late, prays for you, and loves you no matter what) recently shared her desire to serve within her church. So we've been praying and hoping for BIG ways that she can be used because she has many gifts and lots of experience that can be leveraged for good.
An opportunity arose. "Great", she thought! Where could she plug in? Leading a study? Planning an event? Heading up a project? Not quite. She was asked to serve in the facility's commercial kitchen, since she has knowledge of the food handling laws. Ouch.
We laughed about how when we really open ourselves up to be used in our highest capacity and seek God's best for our life, we place a lot of unspoken expectations on the answer we might receive. Because we want what we want. Maybe because we place a higher value on the seen than the unseen service.
So I've been thinking about her situation and how it applies to me - my business, personal life, and ministry to others. I heard quietly in my heart "Will you serve in the kitchen?" (In the simple, humble, practical places.)
Can you relate? Have you presumed - in life, at home, in business or ministry - that BIG is better and have you overlooked the modest opportunities right in front of you? Join me in committing to starting small. I'm beginning to notice that opportunities to serve are everywhere!
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Monday, January 4th, 2010
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| Be Urgent for the Right Things |
I admit. I'm a driven person. My Strengths Finder assessment (you should try it at www.StrengthsFinder.com) says I'm an "Achiever". That means I have to get something done every day. And something significant. And by "every day" that means every week day, weekend, evening, holiday, vacation, etc. I feel lousy if I don't have anything to show for my day.
Despite the fact that I have an inborn sense of urgency to accomplish, I want to be sure that I'm urgent for the RIGHT things.
I've been thinking about how ironic it is that people will spend hours planning and strategizing for their business, home improvement projects, finances, hobbies, vacations, etc, but not spend ANY time investing to that level in their marriage or parenting - two of the greatest blessings and resources a person can have. And then we wonder why things are stale or frustrating.
So this year I want to practice the discipline (I'm saying "practice" because I don't FEEL it yet, but I know I will once I practice it) of applying my urgency strength to the things that really matter to me.
I want to practice a sense of urgency about investing in my marriage. That means re-instituting our date night. That means finishing a chapter in a book we're reading together. That means putting him ahead of my work and other plans.
I also want to practice urgency for investing in my children. So often, I find myself just doing my own thing while they are doing theirs, rather than interacting in a quality way. (After all, dishes and laundry and work has to be done!) I want to be instructing them and training them and being conscious of what I am inputting into them, rather than just focusing on behavior.
Practicing urgency for the things that matter is going to be a new skill for me. I want to focus this year on getting the LITTLE things right in my life so that I can be prepared for the BIG things ahead. Perhaps we miss opportunities in life because we haven't cultivated the discipline or perspective to be ready for them.
When I look back on my life I want to be glad that I was more URGENT for a quality life and interaction with my husband and children than my to-do list.
Have you been urgent for the wrong things? Bigger bank accounts? Promotions, projects, or plans or anything that is less important in the eternal scheme of things than your TRUE VALUES? I invite you to join me in practicing urgency for the things that really matter this year. Here's to a blessed 2010!
~Vicki Norris
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Get Inspired!
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| Is your life ratting you out? |
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Anyone can speak their priorities, but it doesn't mean they are true. Your life will rat you out.
One popular answer to "What are your priorities?" is: "My family, of course!" But does the calendar prove it? Do you have date nights with your spouse scheduled? Is one-on-one time with your kids assigned high priority in your weekly calendar?
If you really examine your calendar, do the things that matter to YOUR family show up there? Ironically, we forget to schedule the most important things to a family like group adventures, game nights, projects, walks, devotions, campouts, reading together, etc. and in so doing we separate our vision of our priorities from the truth of our priorities.
We all have priorities. Like family, friendships, spiritual growth, health, service, etc. And they sound very good.
But our life activities (reflected by our calendar and checkbook) reveal our actual priorities (and what we're striving so hard for) like "a comfortable retirement" or "optimally entertained kids." And what we're left with doesn't fulfill us.
So, if the rat is beginning to give you the creeps, it's time to get out your calendar and activate what's truly important to you.
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