Category: Work & Life

Yes, I’m going to be goofy. No serious contemplations here today.

Then again…chocolate IS a pretty serious topic, is it not?

Okay, so here’s the deal. We all know the truth about sugar. It’s addictive. It’s poison. It robs us of energy, keeps our clothes from fitting, and tastes oh so good!

I’m choosing, once again, to say no to it. I’m not getting all nit-picky – at least not yet – about every little ingredient of every bit of food I eat. Honestly, it makes a big enough difference to just say no to the mouth-watering peanut butter chocolate chip cookies or peanut brittle currently sitting on our kitchen counter. Accomplishing that is a major success, and I’m much less concerned, for now at least, about the type of yogurt I eat or the amount of sugar in this food or that.

But then there’s chocolate. I love chocolate. I crave chocolate. Yes, truly I do. So, how does that fit into the mix?

Here’s the catch – I know that in the process of cutting out sugar, I know that the teetotal mentality just does not work for me. Been there, done that many times before. What does seem to work, though, is allowing myself two small pieces of good chocolate – one in the morning and one in the afternoon – to the plan.

Nice, dark chocolate. Really dark. Sometimes with almonds and a hint of salt. Mmmmm. Oh, and my cup of Choffy, especially now that I drink it “black” most of the time – only occasionally adding a touch of dark chocolate almond milk if it happens to be a weak brew.

So, here I go. It’s day two (nope, I haven’t gotten very far!), and I’m already feeling a bit better. And somehow that chocolate was even more enjoyable yesterday when it was the ONLY sweet I ate. I can handle that!

Yes, I’m still thinking about change, probably because we’re still processing through how to implement some of the things I mentioned last week.

We often shy away from change because we think of the disruption. We think of the mess it will create and the temporary frustration it will bring. And, my friends, it definitely causes all of that! So, why not just leave things as they are?

It comes back to those positive effects. The results. Whether my change has been willing or unwilling – even when I fought against change very, very hard – the Lord has brought unimaginable beauty into my life as a direct result. Every time.

He has also taught me how to make the change a little easier to bear. Yes, there are practical ways to help process through change, whether it’s something as simple as reorganizing a room or something as big as a complete life upheaval.

• Pray fervently. This one might seem like a no-brainer, but how often do we skip it as we approach or find ourselves in the middle of the chaos of change? Or, how often do we neglect to pray when it’s only a “small” change? I’ve used rearranging a room as an example of how I tend to change things up now and then. Does that truly require prayer?Honestly, it’s not about praying over every little detail. It’s about living a life of prayer so that we may do everything for the glory of God. When I’m not living a life of prayer, all change is hard – yes, even reorganizing a single room in my home. But, when I’m in a communicative, growing relationship with my Savior, His guidance flows through everything I do, no matter how big or how small.
• Build a haven. Have a spot in life that is normal. This could be one room that isn’t touched until right before a move – or is the first to be set up afterward. This could be a relationship that keeps you energized through a life change. It could be a stretch of time in every day that stays the same no matter what else changes. Every time change faces me, my haven is different.
• Step away now and then. Not all change requires this. If it’s a change in a schedule, for instance, a new rhythm will form within a few days and be better than ever. But, when change introduces a stretch of utter chaos, it’s a good idea to find a way to step out of the chaos for a time.

What does this look like practically? Well, for someone who likes to finish, it looks like an interruption. A delay. So, I often don’t like to follow through with this one. But, I’ve learned that I have to. It’s important to find a way to completely step out, refresh a bit, then dive back in. It can be as simple as making myself go to bed at a decent hour instead of trying to push as late as possible to continue progressing through the change through discussion, planning, or physical work.

Change is unpredictable. Change never impacts us the same way twice. But, we can process through change well when we are fully surrendered to the way the Lord is working through us!

I’m a little odd when it comes to solving problems. You see, I don’t want to do something just because that’s the way it’s done or because a number of people recommend it.

If I choose an avenue or solution, I want to do it because it works for me or my family.

That means I’m not going to automatically reject something because it’s a fad or a common solution. But, I’m also not going to automatically select it.

Here’s an example. A couple of months ago, I suffered for a week from an ear infection. Now, I don’t like going to the doctor. Don’t get me wrong – I am so incredibly thankful for available medical care. But, if I can find an alternative, I’d rather not pump my body full of medications, even the OTC pain relievers and various allergy meds we keep on hand at home, and deal with the side effects.

This time, though, my ear hurt. Badly. So, I went to an urgent care clinic and got the dreaded steroids, 10 days of antibiotics, and prescription strength antihistamine/decongestant.

It didn’t work. Oh, the steroids helped bring the pain back down to a manageable level, but over two weeks later, my ear still bothered me, and I was still sick. Doug had found some homeopathic ear drops that were supposed to boost my body’s natural ability to deal with an ear infection. I’d been using them sporadically while following the doctor’s prescribed treatment plan, but after the antibiotic was gone, I finally decided to stop all other meds and use the ear drops aggressively. Within two days, the issue was gone.

Why? Because that’s what works for my body.

• Four out of five family members have experienced migraines. We take magnesium instead of prescription strength medication. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it works for all of us.
• We all use essential oils and local honey instead of medication for allergies as often as possible.
• We prefer homemade laundry detergent over store bought.
• We like to use simple ingredients for cooking instead of boxed ingredients.

It’s not because we’re anti-medication, anti-doctor, anti-chemical organic health nuts. We’re not. In fact, it drives me crazy to be fanatical about any one method or fad. There are too many options out there to be fanatical about any single one. Certain diets. Plexus. Various essential oil companies claiming to be the best. A push for organic. Anti this and anti that.

My family doesn’t make choices because we’re sold on any specific plan. Instead, we make choices based on what our experimentation shows works for us.

• Choffy has been a beautiful help for ADD, anxiety, and any potential blood pressure issues – besides just being a delicious and healthy warm beverage for the mornings.
• We are expanding our usage of essential oils because the ones we’ve already experimented with have worked so well. It’s time to try more.
• We planted fruit trees in our yard not because we want to be organic but because we go through a TON of fruit.
• We make our own laundry detergent because our recipe cleans clothes better than the store-bought options, and is cheaper.
• We cook from scratch because it’s cheaper and the reduced preservatives truly do keep us feeling better.

But, all of this takes a little digging. A little research. A little experimentation. It can be uncertain and confusing at times to dig on our own. There’s so much information to sort through! So many possibilities! So much conflicting information. And we’re all unique. So, we can’t just take someone else’s word for it. We have to experiment for ourselves, learn what works best for us, and advise other people accordingly.

I’m learning more and more how to dig, and it’s becoming more and more fun.

Have you done any digging? What has worked for you? What you share just might help the rest of us in our digging!

As I process the flow of my days, something stands out very clearly – it’s so much easier now than ever before to give into distraction. Once upon a time, distractions had to be much more intentional, at least for me. I could hide a book – my biggest distraction – from myself. But, since I work on the computer and need the Internet for just about everything I do, it’s so incredibly easy to just click over to Facebook or follow this or that.

I Must Focus!

Focus has to be very, very intentional. That’s always a challenge, but some days are harder than others.

I’ve tried little tricks here and there to help me with this intentionality, but the one that works the best is time blocks.

Thanks to a little app on my computer, I have an automatic timer that gives me consistent work and break blocks. It seems that 25 minutes is the perfect work block. My timer gives me a work block, followed by a break block – with my choice of 5 or 15 minutes for a break. Usually, I take the 5 minutes. That gives me enough time to go to the bathroom, check on the kids, do a few lunges, grab some water, or whatever. It gets me moving (helpful since I have a desk job!), but it doesn’t waste work time. In fact, in a one-hour stretch, I’m more productive with two 25-minute work blocks and two 5-minute breaks than with a solid attempt to focus on work for one hour. I get more done with the blocks.

But, the breaks are only part of the productivity benefit. The flip side is that I set myself specific tasks in my 25-minute work block. I might have a writing block where all I’m going to do is write for 25 minutes without flipping back and forth to this or that. Just write. Then I set aside another blog for e-mail and miscellaneous small tasks. It’s amazing how much I can write in that block when I don’t allow myself to be distracted!

The catch is this: I have to do it.

I have to remember to utilize the timer.
I have to be diligent to take that break when the timer goes ding.
I have to be diligent to come back to work.
I have to be diligent to not allow myself to be distracted until the work timer goes off!

Whether it’s time blocks or some other productivity technique, none of it works without the discipline to diligently use the tools.

Discipline, my friends, is what is lacking in so many aspects of life. We refuse to discipline ourselves, so none of our tricks work! The techniques that work for me may or may not work for you. But, discipline works for us all. It makes us a better version of who we are. Every single time.

May we grow in discipline this week, no matter what our technique of choice may be!