(My daughter Lisa took this really cute picture of Rebecca while we were visiting my in-laws over the 4th of July weekend. I think she should go in to photography... She has a gift!)I feel a desperate need to eliminate clutter and restore order in my life. You should see my craft room... I would post a picture of it, but it would only serve to clutter up my blog and scare the daylights out of everyone who saw it. I know I've said this before, but I hope I really mean it this time.
Good grief! Is there a pill a person can take to cure double-mindedness? The Bible says that a double-minded person is unstable in all of their ways. I've been praying against this as long as I've known that it was a bad thing. But I'm still double-minded and wishy-washy. It's sickening. Most of the problems in my life are problems of my own making that stem from indecisiveness and a lack of discipline. I disgust myself sometimes.
Another thing I want to do is to teach my kids and myself the 8 habits (discovered and unveiled by Dr. Stephen Covey) until they're so deeply ingrained in our hearts that they'll never be able to be removed. Here they are in a nutshell:
Be Proactive
Begin with the End in Mind
Keep First things First
Think Win-Win
Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood
Synergize
Sharpen the Saw
Find Your Voice and Help Others Find Theirs
These principles, if applied faithfully and in the right spirit, cannot help but to enhance individual lives, and, in turn, make the world a better place.
10 comments:
Wow...this is such a great post Mel! I think I'm definitely going to have to check that book out. I can totally relate to the problems being self-induced, I am very guilty of that myself! Either by an act (or lack thereof) of my own or a thought or just the way I look at something and my attitude toward it makes it a problem!
Thanks for being honest here, it's always nice to know I'm not the only one that struggles with things!
God bless you and a big hug to you too!
Trudy
Thanks so much, Trudy! I hope you'll read the book, when the time is right. I read it once years ago and wasn't all that thrilled with it. But this is a time in my life when I'm definitely ready to start embracing these principles.
Love and hugs,
Mel :)
what a wonderful photo. she has a great eye for capturing just the right shot. Tell her to keep going with it and she will be really good. God Bless
Hi Mel:)
Lisa is a great photographer and Rebecca is a great actress. Lisa has captured Rebecca with great technical skill but Rebeeca has posed like a professional. Gorgeous photo and a fantastic child actress. I am completely bowled over.
Well , as regards clutter, everyone has it.The best way to motivate yourself is to stick posters in the room such as DO IT NOW , JUST DO IT etc. Of course it needs lot of will power.
These are amazing habits to make us successful in life. If we can master one habit a month, in 8 months we will be definitely on the path to being fantastic human beings at work, at home and in the community at large.
Many thanks for sharing.
Have a lovely day Mel:)
My salute to the photographer and the talented actress:) My compliments to both of them:)
Joseph
Hi Mel,
Ohhhh, it's good to be back to blogging and this post is a great way to start. And you are so right, this picture by Lisa is toooo cute.
Wishy washy? Hmmm, I wonder if you are as double minded as you think?
You seem to me to be always seeking betterment for your family and yourself, you always get up and dust yourself off and attack your weaknesses again. I am always encouraged how you continue to try and try again never accepting defeat. I think that is the definition of success. We fail when we give up, and I have never heard you retreat; maybe regroup, reflect, but not retreat. You always have the highest goals, the most noble intentions, and come back fighting. I think you are far more single minded than you may think. That's my observations anyway, God bless,
Fred
Hi Mel:)
I was delighted and filled with great joy to see you and Fred posing like royalties on the steps of a Catholic Church. Spellbinding capture of the moment preserved for posterity.
I must say it is a dream come true. When we read each others posts and comment on them with sincerity, I believe we get to know each other pretty well. We may not live in the neighborhood but we get to know each other better than neighbors. Needless to say it an icing on the cake to meet each other personally,face to face,exchange notes, talk about other mutual friends and go for a walk.Both of you must have had an exciting time and a magical experience.
Have a lovely day Mel:)
Joseph
Thanks, Katrena! I'll pass on your encouraging words to Lisa. :)
Hi Joseph,
Lisa and Rebecca will both be delighted to hear about your kind comments. And I'm going to try to put up some motivational posters to help myself get motivated to deal with the clutter, as you suggested. That's a good idea.
I'm glad you enjoyed reading about Fred's visit to Spokane and the delightful encounter we shared. We both thought of you and spoke of you fondly several times during our conversation and were wishing you could be there with us.
You're right, as long as people are honest, it's possible to get to know someone very well through blogging. Fred was very much the way I'd envisioned him, and I'm sure that you would be, too. :)
Hi Fred,
Your kind words are very heartwarming to me, and have really helped me to think about this whole issue in a more well-balanced way. Thank you so much.
:0)
God bless each and every one of you and those who are dear to you. :)
In Christ,
Mel
Blessings....
Hope you are well, just visiting from my blogology walk.
Don't be so hard on yourself. Simply take things one at a time instead of thinking of them as a whole because it can become overwhelming. Sometimes you get more accomplished if you break it down into segements. Just a thought... one never knows.
great entry
Hi Rhapsody!
Good advice, I'll do my best to heed it. Thanks for stopping by, and for your kind words. Have a lovely day!
Blessings,
Mel
hi Mel!
I have missed you, but have visited the blog and thought of you. For months I was too sick to even think or talk or reply to my commenters after the energy I expended on my daily survival tasks. I am getting better now. This is my husband's and my mantra too. We think the more you have, the more you have to worry about. I am always trying to get rid of stuff while my mother (who I live with because neither of us is well enough to live on our own) continues to be a pack rat, and the frustration of our 2 opposites goes on. I think when my husband returns from the war zone, I will get him to help me sell some things from the storage unit, which mom put there years ago and doesn't even know are there and she has never seen them or asked for them again. When she passes we will have more junk to deal with than we will have strength to, so I think we'll slowly thin things out as we go along. Now if we can get her to stop buying things, that will be wonderful because she has taken all the space in the house and motor home. The only space I am allowed to have is in a bedroom, when the whole basement suite with living room, office, laundry, bathroom, kitchenette is supposed to be mine. We were blessed enough to buy a motor home last week that is worth 5x what we paid for it, and instantly she carried boxes and boxes of her junk out there that we would never even use while traveling, and she did not leave one cupboard open for my brother and I to take our things. SO FRUSTRATING!
Well I will be visiting more often. The blogging world has given me such deep, quality friends, and I appreciate them so much. People like you.
Blessings,
Sheila
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