Philippians 3:14 Friday (er, Saturday) 5/2

• She looketh well to the ways of her household

This week marks the end of one month and the beginning of another, not just on the calendar, but for Philippians 3:14 Fridays, as well.

Several of my weekly goals were met along the way, but I don't think I did so well on the monthly goals. In one sense, while it seems like a failed experiment, it really hasn't been on several levels.

"How can that be?" You may ask. Well, I'll tell you!

Long ago (in a galaxy far, far away!) I used to be a fairly organized person. In recent years...well, who's kidding who, for the last 20 years or so, I find myself on a downward spiral of being less and less organized, of fighting a constant, losing battle to keep up with work, home, church activities, even personal things I used to do for fun--crafts and reading for pleasure, just to name two.

It got even worse instead of better when I started staying home last year--instead of filling my days with the activities I loved and always said I would do "if I had time" I slipped into even worse habits of ennui and drifting through days and weeks without accomplishing much except the most humdrum of necessary activities. Every so often I would surface for air, with all kinds of intentions of starting anew and "this time I'm gonna____________"(fill in the blank--get organized, keep the house cleaner, take a class, you name it).

One of the things that I like about Philippians 3:14 Fridays, is that it helps me to at least put it "out there". Write down all of those little things that I always intend to do but never seem to get around to completing. Set some goals. Realize that the way to achieve those goals is to break them down into manageable pieces. (Joke break--How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time)

If you don't have a particular destination, how will you know if you get there?

So, on to Philippians 3:14 Friday Saturday.

For my weekly goals from last week:

1. I did trim my hair and give myself a manicure of sorts--no polish, but I clipped and filed and buffed and used cuticle oil;
2. I cleaned out 85% of the old craft materials--giving some away and throwing some away--I have a few more things to sort and make decisions over;
3. I did some shredding and trashing of paper items, but not nearly enough;
4. I accomplished two speaking engagements in one week when one was unexpected rescheduled;
5. I did my morning routine about half the time.
6. I didn't get my bedroom finished, but I cleaned out a cabinet and two drawers in my kitchen, plus bathroom vanity underneath the sink.
7. I found our old Atari and games to donate to the youth center. Goodbye, Space Invaders and Pacman. And yes, there are kids in this era of Xbox and Playstation Whatever that find it fascinating and even fun to play these "old" games!

Monthly goals were not so well done:

Blog goals: I've had internet problems a lot, even the poky old dial-up was pokier than usual, and when I went to town to find Wi-Fi, one of my spots only worked about half the time. In another 10 days or so, I'll be back to high-speed internet and hope to accomplish my blog goals at that time.

Physical: Monitored my blood pressure and sugar fairly regularly; did not lose weight. Better luck next month.

Spiritual: I did not get to the Hallel, but did prepare and give two messages; started my prayer journal; fasted two days

Household: EEK--morning routine, so-so; lets just skip the rest!

Mental: I "read at" a couple of books, but did not read one front to back to completion

New Goals

I'm home in small town rural Louisiana for about 8 more days, so my goals are going to be for now until I leave for the big city.

1. Feed my family regular, healthful meals
2. Do my morning routine
3. Spend 5 hours this week working in the front bedroom/junkroom (broken into multiple days) Finish sorting craft materials, clean desk area and replace printer, get rid of at least 25 books, work on filing system, repack holiday items and put in the shed
4. Clean out my chest of drawers
5. Sort books to take back with me
6. Take donation items to youth center/library/Goodwill
7. Read one book this week--just for fun
8. Eat my fruit and yogurt daily
9. Read my Bible daily
10. Continue my prayer journal

Need some accountability to help you as you work toward your goals? See Philippians 3:14 Friday at Which Proverbs 14:1 Woman?

Until next time....

Philippians 3:14 Friday, April 24th

• She looketh well to the ways of her household

This week was not good for me as far as meeting my monthly/weekly goals. Again. Last Sunday I woke up with a head cold, which turned into one of the worst-while-it-lasted head colds I remember in a while. I didn't sleep well because I couldn't breathe lying down, and most days I was exhausted, so I didn't do much. I did, however, accomplish a couple of things.

1. Re-establish that morning routine I was working on While there were a couple of days I felt so bad I barely got dressed, believe it or not, I found that getting up and doing my morning routine made me feel better, even if I collapsed into the recliner immediately afterward and didn't move from there for the rest of the day
2. Clean out old craft materials in the closet Craft stuff is out of the closet, and while I still haven't actually gotten rid of it, I've got it semi-sorted according to trash (T-shirt paint that's at least 15 years old) to give away (ribbons and lace and pretty things for my crafty niece)
3. Work on the paper tiger--sorting, shredding, discarding, and filing Nope. Nada thing done on this
4. Add a piece of fruit and one serving of yogurt to my daily diet If dried cranberries and yogurt-covered raisins count as fruit, then I did this everyday. If not, then 4-5 days
5. Get my hair cut or trimmed Didn't want to spread my germs, so I didn't do this yet
6. Start on my message for a speaking engagement I have coming up I had an unexpected opportunity for an additional speaking engagement for this weekend, so preparing for both of these was my main focus for the last couple of days.
7. Check out venue(s) for the Praise and Coffee event I want to host while I'm home Nothing on this one--I was too germy feeling to go a food service place of business--this may have to be postponed until I get back to Georgia.
8. Catch up on the assignments for the 31-Day Build a Better Blog Challenge I did mail my partner once this week, and read a couple of the assignments, but without high-speed internet some of these are really difficult--it takes a long time to download some of the pages I'd like to read, so this was has been slightly postponed, as well.

New goals for the coming week:

1. Continue morning routine, add weekly jobs--dusting, floors, etc.
2. Work on the paper tiger--sorting, filing, shredding
3. Get some donation items ready for the youth center
4. Clean my bed room well--I started this already, but need to continue
5. Continue prep for next speaking engagement
6. Remember--veggies are our friends
7. Get my hair cut or trimmed
8. Give myself a manicure

I know that sometimes it seems that I fail at my goals more than I succeed, but even in areas where I don't aways accomplish what I set out to do, I can still see positive trends.

What are your goals for this week or month? Join Philippians 3:14 Fridays, hosted by Kate at Which Proverbs 14:1 Woman?

Until next time...

Phillippians 3:14 Friday--April 17

• She looketh well the ways of her household

This week has been a total disaster as far as working toward my goals. Absolutely the only thing I did toward anything at all was take apart our old computer and redistribute the parts--some to the trash, some to storage--to clear off the desk in our front bedroom/junkroom/office/library/everything room.

In my defense, my son was home from college on spring break, so I spent most of my time with him in one capacity or another. We didn't do anything particularly "spring breaky", but we had a good time driving here and there, looking up old haunts and searching out new to us places where some of our family has history.

My goals for the coming week are:

1. Re-establish that morning routine I was working on
2. Clean out old craft materials in the closet
3. Work on the paper tiger--sorting, shredding, discarding, and filing
4. Add a piece of fruit and one serving of yogurt to my daily diet
5. Get my hair cut or trimmed
6. Start on my message for a speaking engagement I have coming up
7. Check out venue(s) for the Praise and Coffee event I want to host while I'm home
8. Catch up on the assignments for the 31-Day Build a Better Blog Challenge

How have you been about setting and meeting goals? Need to get it "out there" for accountability? Join everyone at Which Proverbs 14:1 Woman for Phillippians 3:14 Friday!

Until next time!

Praise and Coffee

I had a surprise waiting for me in my mailbox yesterday, and I can't wait to use it! I won this for being a Facebook Fan of Praise and Coffee Nights! Check out their fan site if you're on facebook, or see the Praise and Coffee Nights website.

What are Praise and Coffee Nights? The purpose is to encourage Christian women to host their own Praise and Coffee gatherings at local coffeeshops or restaurants--a time and place for women to get together for Christian fellowship outside the walls of the church. Check out the Praise and Coffee Nights website for ideas about hosting your own Praise and Coffee gathering--this is something I've been thinking about doing myself, both while I'm home in Louisiana and when I get back to Georgia.

The founder of Praise and Coffee Nights, Sue Cramer, also has a Praise and Coffee blog with thoughtful posts and devotions on a variety of topics. You can click on the link above, or see the listing in my blogroll on the left hand sidebar.

Until next time....

Philippians 3:14 Friday- April 10

I like having a "to-do" list, the only problem is, if I do something that isn't on the list, I want to add it so I can cross it off. This week has been like that. I've accomplished a little of what I set out to do, but some of it has been sorely lacking. My justification is that I've did some additional things that weren't on my list (!) so that should count for something, right?

These are the areas from my monthly goals that I've worked on:

For my Blog:

• Participate in, and complete, the 31-Day Build A Better Blog challenge.
• Take this opportunity to refocus on my original goals for A Virtuous Woman.

Although I haven't posted about what I'm doing for the 31DBBB challenge, I am doing the activities behind the scenes, and I've begun the refocus, as well.

Physical:

This is my weakest area--the only thing I've done so far is try to be moderate in my eating most of the time.

Spirtual:

I started my reading at Psalms 111 and haven't progressed to the Hallel yet, but I'm almost there. I attended a Messianic Passover Seder Wednesday night---participating in the "appointed times" ordained by the Lord have an especially profound impact on me becuase it isn't something I was raised up doing, it's something that I believe the Lord has brought me to, and that I do with purpose and thoughtfulness.

Household:

• Establish a morning routine
• Clean and organize the front bedroom/junk room
• Fix my broken filing system--sort through and file/shred as needed

I posted Monday about my morning routine--I've been successful on most, but not all of these points this week-getting up at a regular time, making the bed, straightening the bathroom--I haven't always gotten dressed within an hour, or done my Bible reading and prayer before I leave the house, but overall I'd give myself a 75/100.

In the front bedroom/junk room, I put our old computer back together so I could get some documents/files off of it before I find a new home for most of it. Once that gets moved out of the way, my next task is to organize the desk area and re-establish a filing system. I need to clean out craft supplies for things I no longer do, or are outdated, and then the hardest task of all--purge books.

How have you been about setting and meeting goals? Need to get it "out there" for accountability? Join everyone at Which Proverbs 14:1 Woman for Phillippians 3:14 Friday!

Until next time...

But It's Still Dark Outside!

• She rises also while it is yet night...
• She looketh well to the ways of her household

I shared in an earlier post about my struggles to cast off my night-owl ways and become more productive, not only in the mornings, but also the rest of the day. I know from first-hand experience how much better my day goes when I have a morning routine. So, as part of the Proverbs 3:14 Challenge of setting goals and "pressing toward the mark", my morning routine goals are these:

1. Get up at a reasonable hour every morning. No sleeping in for no good reason.
2. Read my Bible and pray.
3. Get dressed, to include hair and make-up, within one hour of waking up.
4. Make my bed every day. Even a clean bedroom looks messy with an unmade bed in it--when the bed is made, to include the decorative pillows and the throw draped artistically across the foot, I tend to automatically clean and straighten as I go--put the folded clothes into the drawers instead of laying them on the foot of the bed to be put away later, etc.
5. Wipe down the bathroom sink and vanity; change the hand towel; swish and wipe down toilet.
6. Think about dinner--do I need to put something out to thaw or start something to simmer?
7. I tried to think of seven things because seven is supposed to be the "perfect number", but now I'm danger of veering into daily routine territory, and for this post I want to stick to morning routine. So number 7 is this--don't bite off more than I can chew for a simple morning routine.

Do have a morning routine, whether conscious or unconscious? What do you do in the mornings to set the tone for the rest of your day?

Challenges

This month will be one of changes and challenges for me; some circumstantial, some self-imposed.

The first challenge is circumstantial--I've left my home-away-from-home in Georgia, and returned to home-home in small-town, rural Louisiana, where I'll be for the next several weeks. It's definitely a different life here, with fewer stores and a different household dynamic, not to mention change in scenery!

Some additional challenges are self-imposed.



I'm participating in the Phillipians 3:14 Bloggy Carnival, hosted by Kate at "Which Proverbs 14:1 Woman?" This challenge is all about setting goals and holding ourselves accountable by posting about them and sharing our successes, and, dare I say it, failures, for all the bloggy world to see. Or at least as much of the bloggy world as cares to read about it. This was supposed to start Friday, but that was my travel day--I drove the 10 hours from home-away-from-home to home-home all my myself. More on that later. Needless to say I did not post afterwards. And while I meant to get my Phillippians 3:14 Fridays post ready the night before, I didn't actually do it. More on that later, too.

In addition to the Phillippians 3:14 challenge, starting Monday I'll be participating in the "31-day Build a Better Blog challenge", sponsored by Darren Rowse at ProBlogger. Susan at Craving the Savings is my partner for this challenge. This challenge of this challenge will be compounded by the fact that at home-home I have dial-up internet access, unless I take my lap-top to town to find a wi-fi spot, or borrow someone else's computer who has high-speed internet to do my posting. We aren't home enough to justify the expense of maintaining satellite internet, which is the only high-speed internet we country gals have access to, at least in my neck of the woods.

So, here are my goals, in no particular order:

For my Blog:

• Participate in, and complete, the 31-Day Build A Better Blog challenge.


• Take this opportunity to refocus on my original goals for A Virtuous Woman.


• Find, create, build, or buy, a logo design for A Virtuous Woman.


• Find, create, build, or buy, a logo design for Secrets of a Southern Kitchen.


• Find, create, build, or buy, a logo design for the weekly Mission Possible post.

Physical:

• Lose 10 pounds


• Monitor my blood pressure and sugar at least 4 days a week


• Do something about my hair. Cut, color, style, something needs to give.

Spiritual:

• Read and study the Hallel--Psalms 113-118


• Start a new prayer journal


• Fast at least 3 days

Household

• Establish a morning routine


• Clean and organize the front bedroom/junk room


• Fix my broken filing system--sort through and file/shred as needed


• Replace kitchen curtains


• Establish daily and weekly routines

Mental (?)

• Read one new book

I think I'm all over the map with my goal-setting--I've read that in order to be successful at meeting goals, you have to be specific--"exercise 3 times this week" instead of "exercise more this week", and I can see that I've failed miserably at being specific in I didn't exactly do that for some of these. But, since this is an ongoing project, and I'll see what I can do to fix that by next Friday.

Until next time...