One of the challenges I’m finding in writing this Stewardship Series is my general internal sense that I need to have a problem completely figured out and broken down into comprehensive bullet points before I share about it publicly. The idea of sharing incorrect information or steering someone the wrong way makes my insides go all squirmy.
Continue reading “On Stewarding My Time and Being a Work In Progress”
This post is Part 3 of the Stewardship Series. If you missed them, be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2 on Stewarding My Physical Health.
If you’ve been reading along about my journey to steward my physical health, you know why I’m starting my year of stewardship with losing weight: this is, for me, as much a spiritual issue as it is an issue of diet and exercise.
Today I want to talk about how I’m approaching the challenge to steward my physical and spiritual health, here in the early months of 2019. For the past 4 weeks, I’ve been participating in the FASTer Way to Fat Loss.
Continue reading “Stewarding My Physical Health : The FASTer Way”
Welcome to the Stewardship Series. In 2019 my focus is on intentionally stewarding the gifts and talents God has entrusted to me. This series will highlight the nine areas of stewardship I identified in my 2019 goals: my physical and spiritual health, my marriage and motherhood, my relationships with friends and family, my home, my time online, and my voice. I pray this series encourages you, as we grow together as stewards.
steward: (n.) a person whose responsibility it is to take care of something (ie. another’s property.)
Welcome to Part 2 of Stewarding My Physical Health: The Why! In Part 1 I talked about the practical reasons I’m starting this year of stewardship by focusing on my physical health. But while feeling better, looking better, and avoiding future health issues are all on my list, those aren’t the biggest reasons.
God has been dealing with me for probably the last 7 years. He’s been trying to tell me that my spiritual health and my physical health are intrinsically tied together.
Continue reading “Stewarding My Physical Health: The Why, Part 2”
A law was passed in New York state this week, legalizing abortion into the third trimester. (I encourage you, if you haven’t heard of this, or if you’ve only seen the social media reaction, to read this article from CBS News. It gives a concise description of what has changed in the NY law, as well as thoughts and opinions from people who support, as well as those who oppose, the legislation.)
The reaction on my social media feeds has been what I would expect: shock, disgust, and calls for a return to godly morals and lifestyle.
I wrote a post yesterday in response to those reactions and it quickly became the most widely shared and read of any of the words I’ve ever written. The vast majority of the comments I received were positive, but there were a few comments that led me to feel the need to clarify my position.
I am not a proponent of abortion. I believe unborn babies are in fact, babies. I don’t believe the location of an infant (whether inside the womb or outside) changes his or her inherent value. I believe God is the author of life, and the only One who should decide when a life ends.
My post yesterday was not to say I support the new law, or feel Christians should just sit idly by when immoral and ungodly changes are happening in our society.
What disturbed me, and what prompted me to write the post was the language I saw used to discuss this topic. This feeling of unease is not new to me. I feel it often, when issues of great political or social controversy are in the news. I feel it when the issue is same-sex marriage, immigration, politicians and Supreme Court nominees being accused of sexual assault…fill in the blank. You get the idea.
Abortion is the issue at hand, but it’s not really the focus of my writing, either yesterday or today.
I’m focused on HOW we are talking about these topics, specifically, the PEOPLE involved.
Welcome to the Stewardship Series. In 2019 my focus is on intentionally stewarding the gifts and talents God has entrusted to me. This series will highlight the nine areas of stewardship I identified in my 2019 goals: my physical and spiritual health, my marriage and motherhood, my relationships with friends and family, my home, my time online, and my voice. I pray this series encourages you, as we grow together as stewards.
steward: (n.) a person whose responsibility it is to take care of something (ie. another’s property.)
Warning: incredibly vulnerable post ahead. I’m kicking off this series by telling you about my journey with my weight, and why stewarding my physical health is an area of focus for me this year.
I want to be clear…this is all about ME and does not speak to anyone else’s journey, struggles, or issues with weight, weight loss, diet culture, eating disorders, etc. I know everyone fights their own fight in this area, and my struggles pale in comparison to many. I know you could look at this post, roll your eyes and say “that girl has no clue!” I hope you won’t, but I understand.
I still feel like I need to share this, if only for myself. Sometimes we can’t move forward without looking back on how we got to where we are.
If you came over yesterday, looking for my weekly rambling, I’m sorry to disappoint. I find that I’m easing into 2019 a little slower than I planned. My sister has been visiting, and since we don’t see each other in person nearly often enough, taking time to spend with her was a big priority.
In addition, while the goals I mentioned in last week’s post have begun to crystallize and become more clear, several of them are pretty big and daunting prospects. Rather than hitting the ground running, it feels like I need to take January to prepare myself, mentally and spiritually, for what I’m going to be attempting this year.
So while today’s post is a bit shorter than normal, I did want to come over and leave a little note to let you know: I have some big stuff in the works! But as is often the case with good things, it’s taking some time.
Ahh January.
Here we are, four days into a new year. Does anyone else fight the feeling that you’re already behind in the first week of the year, or is that just me?
Starting a new year, with all its promise and potential…right at the tail end of December…when things have been crazy-hectic-yet-simultaneously-completely-unstructured…I may be way off here, but it seems counter-intuitive to me. Planning goals for the new year while I feel like my routines are burning to the ground around me is a little crazy-making, or at least it has been this year.
Continue reading “Goal Planning, Powersheets and My Word for 2019”
It’s a story that’s always fascinated me. A young woman, betrothed but not yet married, receives a visit from an angel with an incredible salutation.
“Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28).
Favored? Chosen by God? How? Why?
I’ve never been successful with New Year’s Resolutions. The only times I ever tried making them, I abandoned them quickly. It only took a couple such failed attempts before I decided the process wasn’t for me. When I’d hear of people setting goals and resolutions at the first of the year, I paid little attention.
But in the past few years I’ve followed certain podcasts and social media accounts that focus on things like habit formation, productivity, and yes…goal setting. As with most things, I was slow-to-warm-up but over time became intrigued. I wanted to be the type of person who set goals and accomplished them, but I was afraid my track record made trying a waste of energy.
Then, late last fall, the podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin introduced a unique idea: 18 for 2018. The hosts encouraged one another to create a list of 18 things they wanted to accomplish in 2018. There were no rules. Goals could be as specific or as vague as one chose. They could include one-time items as well as long-term goals. Tasks could be ambitious and risky or small and safe. Listeners began creating and posting their own lists, and seeing others’ ideas sparked my own. I decided to jump in and give it a go.
I’m just going to start this off by being brutally honest and vulnerable: I’m not having the greatest morning. I started this blog to talk about being intentional: doing things with purpose and planning, not haphazardly and reactionary. But right now, it’s 8:55 am on Friday, the day I set for myself to publish a new post each week. And here I am, just now writing one.
I feel like this week has been hectic and busy, but I have nothing to show for it. I feel like I’m failing and floundering and overall a hot mess.
These things may feel true, but they are not true. Feelings are not facts.
Life is busy, and a mom’s work (or, let’s be real, life as an adult in general) is repetitive and cyclical. As my former roommate’s brother once told me, “Your laundry will never be completely clean, so long as you are fully committed to the idea of wearing clothes.” (He now has a PhD in philosophy, unsurprisingly.)
Because I know that how I’m feeling is not the truth, and that intentionality is not only about planning for the future, but about taking assessment of the past and present in order to move forward, today I’m going to remind myself of things in my life that are working well, even while I’m currently frustrated about the stack of dishes in my sink, waiting to be washed yet again.
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