Just thought I’d share a little progress note with you.
We are starting seeds for the new fall garden. I’m excited to be able to grow things now that wouldn’t grow during the hot summer here.
Lots of sprouting going on!
Everglades Tomatoes
Purple Coneflowers
Oregano
Sweet Marjoram and French Dwarf Marigolds
And we’ve been prepping our beds for some special seedlings. These are our Seminole Pumpkins! I’m so excited to be growing this Florida native in my garden this fall! If you look closely, there are nine little seedlings in that bed. We’ll be giving it some more mulch a little later on.
And I thought I’d share some of the ways we get things accomplished here at our house. I’m not able to go outside for hours, helping with all the gardening tasks. And there are SO many, you can be sure! When it’s cooler, I can sit and help outside, but it’s still just too hot for me to sit out there now.
So, this is how I help. We cover the floor with sheets and cardboard, set up a table, bring in dirt and pots and plants and I help get things done. These were our strawberries. They’ve grown and multiplied for several months in this wagon and needed to be separated in order to bloom in the fall and winter. It felt so good when that job was done. Doug rolled them back outside and brought in our other wagon to load up all the pots.
There would be no garden if Doug didn’t help. I am so thankful for him! He says I’m the brain and he’s the brawn…LoL! Not really, but it does sort of describe our strengths. I do all the planning, plotting, choosing seed, buying supplies, laying out the garden; and he supplies the brute strength. I’m so grateful the Lord put us together on the same team.
Sometimes, it feels like everyone else is doing so well. Achieving. Growing. Accomplishing.
While I seem stuck. In a rut. Making no great progress. Just existing. Or to be honest, just barely existing.
My tasks feel unimportant. My growth is so slow. Even I’m bored with me.
But as my pastor reminded me last night, there are no unimportant jobs in Christ’s work. And even my small contributions are worth my very best effort.
Whether I’m doing dishes…or calculating our budget…or greeting a church visitor with a smile…or praying for my church leaders… maybe sending out a get well card… these “small” efforts are important in God’s grand scheme. And I should do my best.
His goal for me isn’t great accomplishments. His goal is my growth. He wants me to keep growing to be more like Him.
And even if my growth isn’t the same as some others…
I am still growing.
Be faithful in your tasks today, my friend. God will bless your work in His way & in His time.
Today’s management looks an awful lot like laziness. It isn’t accomplishing much, and the lack of effort being put into it is appalling.
Because, you see, the best way for me to get this week started off well, is for me to rest.
This past weekend took a lot out of me physically. I had several things on my to-do list and my physical energy is completely depleted.
Since I have an adrenal issue, I have to be super careful to allow my body to get the rest it needs. If I don’t, I have an adrenal crash. Those are painful. And scary. And deplete my body even further.
So to avoid that, I have to rest.
You may not have a physical issue that requires extra rest, but you are human! And that means you must have sleep and rest (physically, mentally, spiritually) every day.
I think we women have so much to do on a regular basis that “doing” becomes a habit. And often, our goal.
Just keep doing, doing, doing.
But are we working efficiently? Is our working accomplishing a desired end result? Is our current project even necessary?
These are only questions you and the Lord can answer together.
But I encourage you to allow yourself some down-time when you truly need it. Reject the lies of the enemy that your worth is reflected by your accomplishments.
Your worth is in Jesus. He gave His own life to forgive your sins and give you a home in Heaven with Him. *That* is where your worth lies!
So my Monday is being managed by my snuggling in my little red recliner and reading a book, as soon as I hit “Publish” on this post.
Maybe you need a nap today. If so, I hope you see what a crucial task that is for your week to go well. Go snuggle up with a book or a kiddo and rest your way into the week.
Yep. It’s been a whiiiiiiile since I’ve done a Managing My Monday post! But I’m just going to jump right in. 🙂
Doug teaches via livestream on Mondays and Wednesdays, so that leaves me here with Isaac and the 2 dogs. Normally, I wouldn’t have to include the “2 dogs” part, but when 1 of those dogs is still a puppy…well, there’s a lot to manage there. So…I included them.
LexaBelle is adorable and growing so fast! She is well over 40 pounds now and super strong for a pup. She has something to “say” about everything – whether she needs to potty, or something outside made a noise, or she can’t find her toy, or she’s hungry…or sleepy…or stuck on the bed and afraid to jump down. You get the picture…she barks at ev.er.y.thing. We’re working on it, but whew – she is so much more vocal than any other dog we’ve ever had, and it’s testing our training ability, I can assure you!
Isaac is a dream to care for. He is so well trained now and understands when I tell him he’ll have to wait for Daddy to come home for something. I can no longer move him up in the bed or change/feed him. Doug does all those tasks. So Isaac has the patience of a saint, as long as I keep the Gaither, Little Einsteins and 3-2-1-Penguins videos rolling.
Every Monday, I handle Isaac’s payroll. I have to approve hours and submit codes via a couple different web sites now. It seems like the process changes every few months. Right now, Isaac only has 2 employees – Doug and Mrs. Julie. That keeps it pretty simple. We’d like to eventually add someone else to the roster for those times when Mrs. Julie can’t make it and Doug already has plans made. It doesn’t happen often, but it’d be nice to have a backup.
Over the weekend I made a yummy, healthy trail mix. I’d been buying a keto trail mix from Wally World, but it was $5 for a small container. I bought my own nuts, included a few extra things they didn’t have and removed stuff I didn’t like. Of course you can tweak it to your preferences. It’s really delicious and keeps me from sending Doug out for chips. 😉
I included pecans and walnuts (sprayed lightly with olive oil, salted and roasted), cashews, cocktail peanuts, and pepitas. I also added Lily’s sugar-free chocolate chips and some golden raisins. I realize the raisins pull it out of “keto” range, but I like them and used them very sparingly.
Monday’s also the day I start to work on our menu and grocery lists for the week. This is a task I am so not good at, but I keep trying. Doug’s at Publix right now, picking up the fabulous BOGOs and all our meat for the week. We shop at Walmart, too, via their Grocery app and website. We splurged for a year of Walmart+, so we get free delivery of our groceries each week. I don’t know if we’ll continue it beyond this year. We’ll wait and see what this next year holds, financially, before making that decision.
I did start my Monday in the Word of God today. It’s a really good place to start. 🙂 I’m going through this book right now. It has short undated devotions, accompanied by beautiful art and painted Bible verses. I’m really enjoying it.
During the holidays, I usually change my phone ringtone to something Christmasy – usually Carol of the Bells by The Celtic Women (because it’s beautiful and tickles my funny bone every time it starts playing.)
But for the New Year, I wanted something a little more meaningful. My phone doesn’t ring often, so when it does, I pay attention. This year, I chose a song by the McKamey’s called “I Keep Praying.”
It has really been a great motivator to me so far. There is so much going on that I need to pray about – in my life, my family, my church, my nation. There are so many things I can’t do anything about – except pray. I’m so thankful I have a Heavenly Father that hears me every time I lift my heart, mind and voice to Him in praise and supplication.
He knows me. And He hears me. What a precious treasure that is – for this Monday, and for every day!
Oh give me the quiet that seeps into my soul, Where no voice is speaking, No pictures are streaming, No jets are screaming as they split the sky so vast.
Oh give me the peace that pours over my heart, Where no politicians are declaring, No car horns are blaring, No bluetooth is pairing as it connects to the net at last.
Oh give me the rest that flows into my brain, Where no thought is criticizing, No greed is fantasizing, No reflection realizing hurts that come from the past.
I want a hush for my hurried mind, A lull that refuses to bind The cares to my weary soul and finds A calm in the Words of my Saviour so kind.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
My pastor preached an incredibly wise sermon yesterday. It was all about paying attention when the Lord speaks to your heart, with an emphasis, of course, on doing what the Lord wants you to do.
He used this verse, which is quite sobering:
How do I avoid that destruction?
Pay attention!
Spend time with the Lord.
in His Word
in prayer
Block out all other “voices”.
Other books
Music
Social media
Look for His instructions while you read and pray.
Then, obey Him.
“His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” John 2:5
A simple formula, but one that will helps us to avoid destruction, here in this life and in the one to come.
What has the Lord told you to do today?
Do it, my friend. He will bless your obedience and His peace will fill your heart.
I love that it is finally autumn!!! Of course, we won't be able to tell it here in Florida for another month or so. Nevertheless, it is nice to know there are cooler days ahead! This picture was taken by one of my bloggy friends,Shanda. She lives up north, of course. 😉
Well, we are a-l-m-o-s-t fully recovered from our bout with the cold/flu thingy at our house. My hubby is still sniffling quite a bit, but the allergens are still rampant here, too, so we think it is more allergies than cold. We hope so, anyway.
Isaac is continuing to get his days and night mixed up. Saturday night, he never did go to sleep. He stayed awake until 5 a.m. Sunday morning! Sigh…that's not very conducive to getting to church on time, is it??? In fact, he and I didn't make it at all to the morning services. (I've been dealing with a lot of pain this weekend, so I stayed home with the Sleeping Handsome One.) 🙂
Doug begins another tutoring session today, and we are quite grateful for this bit of extra income. I do, of course, still have my shop on Etsy, but it seems like nothing is selling there lately. I'm hoping that things will pick up nearer the holidays.
I was able to make it to church last night, and to choir practice. We have started work on our Christmas cantata! Yay!!! I love Christmas music and I love to sing with the choir – it's like 2 of my favorite things all rolled up together. So fun!
My goal this year is to actually sing IN the Christmas cantata. Usually I end up sick during December and have to watch the cantata from the audience or on the internet. It is very discouraging, I can tell you, after doing all that work, practicing all those songs, and to end up not being able to perform it together with my choir friends! I am going to be working very hard to get myself healthy and well and STAY THAT WAY for the next 3 months!
I guess that's it for today's update. I leave you with a picture of Kepler in her favorite new hiding place:
Obtaining Mercy 