Challenge One - Question 17

"What is the single most important thing you can do to improve the quality of your work life this year?"

I know that the thing that I need to do most to improve the quality of my work life is to make sure that I am organized! I love having a regular routine that I follow because I love the feeling of a completed task!

Nothing in my job is more gratifying to me then knowing that I did a good job. I do tons of different things at work and at times am all over the board with what my responsiblities are. I take pride in accomplishing the task that my boss gives me and even more pride in accomplishing task before he asks me!

So, this year I will continue my quest to organize myself & my work flow so that I am able to mark off my "to do's"! This will improve not only the quality of my work life but the quality of my work output.

Sibling Bonds

Sibling relationships—and 80 percent of Americans have at least one— outlast marriages, survive the death of parents, resurface after quarrels that would sink any friendship. They flourish in a thousand incarnations of closeness and distance, warmth, loyalty and distrust.
Erica E. Goode

I am one lucky girl to have began my life with siblings. They are all OLDER than I am (grin) and each have impacted my life in ways that I am uncertain that they have ever imagined. They each were entirely different and yet still all the same. They are family.

So, here is my little tribute to those whom I hold dear in my heart and who I will always love.

My Big Sister - Kimberly "Aka Kim"

The best way to describe my sister is "Mama Bear"! She would take in anyone to her home and make them family. To Kim, a stranger is family who just has not had a chance to make memories with. As a child, she was always considered by me to be "cool". When she moved out, she always remained "connected" to home.

Kim and I are a lot a like in many ways; but there are some ways where aspire to be more like her than I am.. She has always been a great example of giving of herself and is a wonderful example of how to pick up and go on. (She even gives and gives when you are screaming - No, no, no! - Ha ha ha)

I am extremely proud of her. She has raised 2 absolutely amazing young women and is still raising her step-son. She is head over heels in love with her grandson. In the past few years she went back to college to get her RN degree and is a gifted nurse. I am certain her patients feel her love as much as her medical care.

No matter what life brings, we will always remember our favorite saying " Weeeee lllloooooooooooooovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeeee each other"!

Dennis - AKA "Bubba" or as I call him "B".

Bubba was always my hero. My mom says that from when I was born he always gave me extra attention and was always so sweet to me. From as early as I can remember, B took me every where he went. He spoiled me with gifts. He was the best big brother a girl could ask for.

Bubba married his high school sweet heart and they have 8 children. He was born to be dad! From pulling magic quarters from ears to taking the time to just talk, he was always there for me. As he grew older, he was definately a favored uncle with his "big kid" attitude.

I regret that years have passed and I get to see him very rarely because of distance. I miss him very much.

I admire his attitude for success. Kim says he was born under a lucky star, but I know he just makes things happen! His love for God is the most admirable thing about him. He lives his life for Christ and has raised his family to do the same. He has a passion for life that I admire! I love him now and always.

Shane -

Shane can be described easily - He is HEART! I don't mean he has a heart, I mean Shane is defined as heart. Shane would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need.

Shane has gone thru tons. He has survived being in war, survived tragedy, dealt with pain and yet there is not one human in the world that I know that always seems content. Every time I talk to Shane, he makes me remember the simple things in life are the most treasured.

I don't get to see him that often either but I know in my heart that there will be future times when he and I will sit and visit together. Shane, an old soul, will always be loved by me for being my big brother! He will always be admired by me for being content with where God places him and willing to wait for the blessings to come.

I love each of your dearly - Kim, Bubba & Shane!

Challenge One - Question 16

"What is your most important financial goal this year, and what is the most important step that you can take this year towards achieving it?"

My most important financial goal this year is to ensure that we keep ourselves in a position to purchase the home that we want to buy. (Well, that is if I ever find a home that I really want!)

I admit that I have several other things that I consider making financial decisions on but I am learning the art of restraint. This means using our credit wisely so that we get the best interest rate, keeping our savings where we have our down payment and NOT settling for something that I don't want. The last is proving to be the hardest.

I just have the feeling that I am going to drive up the driveway and just now that I have found our new home. Just hoping we can get this done before the end of the summer :-)

Thru The Bible in 2011 - Genesis

Our church is reading thru the bible is 2011. I can already see the fruits of the labor in myself, my family and my fellow church members. It is giving a community of people an amazing experience together. To read God's word, to ask questions and to ponder what God is trying to teach you.

I thought it might be fun to blog what I am getting out of each book of the bible as we read thru in 2011. Since I just finished Genesis this morning, I thought it was time to share what Genesis has meant to me or what I have learned that I want to share. (I am sure there will be many things that I need to leave between God & I; but who knows?)

- I had never thought to ask how old Eve was when she died. She just kind of disappears from the story.

- A funny "Troyism" was that we might have had other animals on earth when Noah came out the ark but he was hungry and who knows what he chose to eat? I got such a laugh from that.

- That very soon God noticed the fact that man could not be alone and created woman. He had a plan for marriage and the exclusiveness of relationships at the very moment that men were made. This just reinforces to me that God will always favor helping marriages succeed because this event was not a by-product of his creation. It was the plan!

- I love Genesis 4:7. I think for my children this is one the verses that I hope to impress upon their hearts. For me, I will live accordingly to this verse as much as I can. My favorite verse from the book of Genesis reads "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

- I was saddened by the number of times that God's heart was described to filled with pain or aching over humankind.

- That Abraham's request to "bargain" for his fellow man was honored by God. Encourages me to pray for the people in my life because God is willing to listen.

-I loved when Abimelech's & his people said "We saw clearly that the Lord was with you". Other stories tell of people seeing God's favor on someone but I wonder if it was always seen "clearly". I so want to live a life where people could say that they saw "Clearly" God was with me.

- It was interesting the Esau's wife was a source of grief for Isaac and Rebekah. This encourages me to pray for the future relationships with my children's spouses.

- I loved that when Jacob kissed Rachel he began to weep aloud. I felt that way with Kaleb in months to come; but I love that Jacob was so certain of his love for Rachel that he wept aloud.

- That the favored people of God did acquire wealth. When we are seeking God's will and not man's will God can bless us with worldly things also.

- That Schechem was willing to give any amount of money for Dinah but he did not value her enough to protect her virtue.

- That Joseph was able to forgive his brothers for selling him and attributed the events to God's greater purpose for him.

- That the Pharaoh (who was in charge of everything in Egypt) honored the fact that Jacob made Joseph swear to carry him home to be buried. He could have arranged for it to be done or told Joseph "not a good time" but instead he insisted that Joseph go and carry out the wish of his father.

For me, Genesis is wonderful in that from the very beginning there was a plan for the end. I don't know rather my time is closer to that of the end or that of Genesis but I am glad that God has a plan.

Challenge ONE - Question 15

"Who do you most want to encourage this year?"

This year, in addition to my family, I really want to encourage my Secret Sister. I love taking on the commitment of having someone that I pray for, buy little gifts for and encourage during the year; but the problem I have is that while I always remember to keep my Secret Sister in my prayers I do not always remember to let her know that I want her to be encouraged.

I want her to be encouraged because she pours out so much of herself. I want to know her joys and pray for her pains. I want for her to feel loved even if she never knows who it is coming from.

Challenge One - Question 14

"What habit would you most like to establish this year?"

I want to establish a habit of exercise!

Breaking The Cycle

I have MANY flaws. I know what they are and likely am currently beating myself up over them. So, I already know that I have enough of my own issues to handle before pointing out others but tonight the impact of these "life cycles" are getting a little too close for comfort for me.

Today, I was faced one again with the acceptance of something that is actually one of my biggest fears. In loving the person and the comments that they made, I could not help but want to scream - THIS CYCLE NEEDS TO BE BROKEN! The affirmation of the actions is exactly WHY this particular situation continues to be encouraged within this persons circle of influence. (Could I be more politically correct in this statement?)

I have no intention of going into the details of this particular situation. I do however wonder what the correct way to handle lovingly rebuking an action is when you fear the influence could have a direct impact on your own family? I know pray!