Happy New Year!

May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.

We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.

Psalm 20:4-5

Goodness, time just FLIES. I have SO MUCH that didn't get done during December; not only were we blessed with lots of stay-over company, but we had a washing mashine cause over $10,000 worth of flood damage! Which, in turn, caused a lot of fuss and turmoil, and time to recover - but God is GOOD, and there are LOTS of possible worse-than-it-was scenarios! :)

Last year, I THINK, we talked a bit about goals. This year, I want to present you with a DEFINITE goal to work on TOGETHER. Becky, one of my dear friends, was so not satisfied with the way her Christmas went! So, we're joining together to make every 25th of the month "DO SOMETHING FOR CHRISTMAS DAY"!

Whether it's gather your recipes together in one place for the special treats you want to make, or addressing your Christmas card envelopes early so you only have to do the cards - we're going to take one day a month to focus on getting things DONE, so we don't have to cram at the last minute. :)

Now, I will admit to you: I do a LOT of the same things year after year, and thanks to Christmas Organizing, I've had a couple of Christmas notebooks - one in particular I keep my December calendar, shopping lists for traditional meals and the Open House, and recipes in. It SO helps to be ORGANIZED - and it's a little, teeny-tiny job to do at the beginning of the year! I highly recommend CO - I'm a moderator for the Yahoo group, so I'm around there a lot. :D Krisann is a great person, and you'll learn a lot from her! (I'm not getting compensated in any way for the promo, just offering a place you can get sensible help!)

IF you want to join us in this goal, 11 days total in a year - because obviously, you'll be CELEBRATING Christmas in December! :D - just leave me a comment, or send me an email. I'll remind us on the 24th of each month, and IF POSSIBLE, tell you what I'll be working on. If it's a present for you, I can't really tell, now, can I. :D

OK, off to get back to work for the year. Please pray for me; I'm still pretty TIRED.

Be blessed, dear one! I would love to hear from you! Let me know what's going on in your life! If you have anything I can pray about, let me know - or tell me if you'd like everyone here to pray for you! It's a small group, but they LOVE to pray for other people!! :)

YOU ARE LOVED!!!! My prayer for you is that you'll truly discover HOW MUCH this year - it will change your life!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Well, here we are again. :) We've been together on this blog for a whole year. Last year, we started out setting goals - and while we might have done ok, we didn't do too well at all on the whole.

SO! Who's up to setting new goals this year? :) I'll start, and you can post in the comments section - and I'll ask once a month how we're doing. Be honest, OK? :D

I will read at least one verse FROM MY BIBLE daily, not online, not trying to find a verse for our devotional, but FROM MY BIBLE.

I will post at least once a week to this blog.

I will send at least one card to someone a month.

I have a couple of others I MIGHT do, but those three for sure are ones I want to commit to. Your turn!!

Dear friend, as we go into 2009, may you know with all your heart that God loves you, that He cherishes you and longs for you to intimately know Him. Seek Him, know Him, and be IN Him in '09!!!! BE BLESSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know I've been a stranger lately....

I've been busy, and I'm not sure where God's leading me with this blog anymore.

With that said, :), here's an article I'm reprinting with permission - I think it will help you out! :) (Written from a secular viewpoint, but worth reading!!) ENJOY!

Organize and Simplify Your Holiday Spending

Now that the holidays and holiday shopping are upon us, here are 10 simple ways to organize and simplify your spending.

1) Decide on a budget. Decide how much you can spend this holiday season. Once you have your number, determine who you're buying for and how much you can spend on each person to keep at, or under, your budget.

2) Use one credit card. Rather than using several different cards, consolidate all of your purchases on one single credit card. If you have to return something, you'll know which card you used. You won't have to carry tons of cards in your wallet everywhere you go. You'll only have to pay one credit card bill at the end of each month.

3) Think lightweight. When buying gifts for family members and friends that you need to send through the mail, keep the weight of those gifts in mind. The lighter the item (think gift cards!), the less the postage. This is especially true for your international packages.

4) Buy gift cards, for yourself. Determine what your shopping budget is and buy gift cards in your favorite stores for that amount. Whenever you purchase something, use your gift cards. When your gift cards have run out, you've reached your budget.

5) Buy family gifts. Rather than purchasing gifts for each person in a particular family, get one family gift that the entire household will enjoy, such as a game or movie tickets.

6) Simplify toyland. Many young kids will find just as much joy in playing with nested Tupperware containers, drawing on scrap paper and filling a bucket with snow, as they would with a store-bought toy. This is not to say you should be a scrooge this holiday season and I'm not suggesting you don't buy your kids any toys. But try to keep the volume of toys you plan to purchase in mind, especially since many toys are forgotten quickly after the wrapping paper is removed.

7) Shop early. Last minute shopping can result in overspending and tons of stress. You're in good shape if you could get all of your Christmas shopping done at least two weeks prior to December 25th.

8) Increase your income. Do things around the holidays that bring in some extra money, such as a part-time job at a retail store, babysitting, becoming the official neighborhood gift wrapper or selling quilts or whatever crafty thing you make.

9) Get creative. Rather than running to the mall whenever you need a gift, how about giving something you made using something you might already have in your house. Some ideas are hand-stamped stationery, homemade bread or fudge, a quilt or homemade soap. You could also give a gift of a service, such as free babysitting to a friend with kids, or free snow shoveling to a neighbor who is not able to do so.

10) Stick to your list. When you go shopping, go with a list and only buy things on your list. Keep your attention focused on those items you originally set out to buy. When people browse around and window shop, they tend to spend a lot more then they originally intended.

by Maria Gracia - Get Organized Now!
http://www.getorganizednow.com
FREE Idea-Pak and E-zine filled with tips, ideas,articles and more to help you organize your home,your office and your life at the Get Organized Now!Web site!

Tuesday is Goal-Check Day!!!

It's that dreaded time of the week, ladies. :D It's time for us to 'fess up about how we're doing with the goals we've set ourselves. I'll go first, then ask those of you who sent me your goals some questions!

OK. First goal: reading the Bible in chronological order. I was up with my schedule until last night; my room threw up into the rest of the house while they're doing the floors :D, so I'm not quite sure where the Bible I'm using and my schedule got off to. It's on my list of things to find today. :D

Second goal: doing water aerobics twice a week, starting this week. Tonight is the class I attend, and Kenn knows I'm going, and I know I'm going, and my bag is all packed and ready to grab. :) I'm half dreading it, half looking forward to it. My endurance is way down, and it's amazing how much my carpal-tunnel hurts when working with water weights. But I love the water! :D I love being so much lighter in the water. LOL!

Third goal: setting office hours and keeping them. OK, not so good. I was on a conference call last night about balance in life - and I used to teach this stuff, too! :D - but the one thing he said was multi-tasking is a popular buzz word, but not an effective way of getting ANYTHING done. So, I'm going to stop multi-tasking, especially when I'm on the computer, and that should help me get much closer to this goal. I am doing better at keeping things separated. Another thing that came out of this call was: if I don't have separations and boundaries I'm willing to adhere to, why should I expect anyone else to adhere to them?

OK, I'm done. :D Now, then. Let me pull out my file! :) OK.

Deby. You're first. :D How are YOU doing? I know ou're reading. How about your organization? your WW?

Nancy! :) How are YOU doing? What steps toward your goals have you been able to take in the last week?

Judy? How's the exercise going? Still keeping on with it?

BECKY!! :D How are you doing with your billion goals? :D I know you're stamping and scrapping like you wanted to, and doing really well on your keeping your house straight. :) I know you didn't go to church Sunday because you hurt your leg. Plans for Wednesday night? How are you doing with your other goals?

Karen. :) How are those steps toward your accomplished goals going? Are you journaling? How's the Bible reading going? The rest of them? :)

Anyone else jumping on this bandwagon? :) It's never too late to set a goal for yourself. I'll be glad to help, if that's what you need. And we're ALL holding each other accountable.

The picture is from this morning; it's the wind chimes outside our back deck. It's REALLY warm here this morning; the weather front is moving in, so it's going to get stormy, but it's just silly when you go outside at 8:30 in the morning and it's as warm OUTSIDE as it is INSIDE, in JANUARY. AUGH!!!!!

:) OK. Time to move on to another task. I hope you're having a WONDERFUL day, my dear friend. I am blessed beyond measure by you!!!! Take this verse today, and take a moment to obey:

Psalm 46:10-11

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

It's MONDAY! Share what you learned at church!

Hello, dear friend. How are you doing today? Did you have a good weekend? I did, but BOY, was it BUSY!! I was SO tired last night, I was in bed asleep by 10. HIGHLY unusual for me, but it sure felt good. :D

So, what was YOUR sermon about yesterday - or, if you'd prefer, what did you learn in Sunday school? Sometimes, God touches us more strongly about a topic in one lesson than He does the other. :)

Ours was about VISION yesterday. It was about God writing down what He says He's going to do, and about our writing down what He tells us He's going to do, or wants us to do. Sounds a LOT like goal-setting, doesn't it? :D Our pastor also said this: "Write down what you'd like to have happen in your life as if NOTHING COULD STOP YOU. Then, see what God does."

Wow. What a challenge - to actually BELIEVE God would do that for me, fulfill my DREAMS? That, actually, is a scary thought to me. I'll talk more about that later on, in another post. I want to get this one out, so you can start sharing, too!!! :)

Thank you for all your prayers, ladies. Please continue to pray for my blood glucose control, and my eyesight. :)

Have a WONDERFUL day - I can't WAIT to hear what God had to say to YOU yesterday!

Just a little on goal-setting!

Hi, ladies! I want you to know that I read each and every email you send, every comment, and I take your concerns seriously.

Some of you are serious about being accountable with at least me concerning your goals for this year. I applaud you and your efforts!!! Thank you so much for asking me already if I've been doing what I've set out to so far. :) It will be MY turn to do so shortly.... ;D

One thing I want to cover with you is goal-setting. I used to get paid to teach this kind of stuff, so I hope you'll take what you can from what I have to share. :)

Remember when I said I didn't like "resolutions"? Well, one reason is because a resolution usually doesn't have a PLAN attached. Most people say, "This year, I'm going to lose weight" - but that resolution falls by the wayside quickly, because there's no ultimate goal, and no plan to get there! Try this instead: "By December 31, I will have lost 50 pounds. This means I need to lose and average of 4.25 pounds a month, and I'm going to do it by ________________ (Weight Watchers, excercise, etc.)."

Do you see what I'm saying? You have something to shoot for with the second statement. It's measurable AND attainable! By breaking it down into the second sentence, you've got a plan to go with your goal - and you can also break it down further! That's an average of less than a pound a week! Whatever will motivate you the most is what you need to keep in your mind. :)

The reason we NEED to set goals? Usually because we have to change a mindset we've had for a while, or because the goal means adding/subtracting a behavior/activity we really don't WANT to do, but realize it needs to be done. That's usually the Spirit prompting you, ladies! :)

I'm praying Psalm 20:4-5 for you:
May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests.

If I can help, please let me know. :) That's what I'm here for! (The cactus flower is in bloom on the sun porch right now. :) I just wanted to share!)