New Commitment

Okay. So, yesterday I made a new commitment.

I pray. I read The Bible. But because I have a busy life, I seem to just slide it in whenever it fits in my schedule. I usually do somesort of praying and Bible reading everyday, but i have been feeling convicted lately that i am not doing as well as i should be when it come to this area of my life. Jesus is important to me. So, why in the world am i not making it more of a priority in my life? I usually spend about 15 min to 30 min at the end of my day praying, reading, and journaling. I am more of a night person than i am a morning person, so i always thought that this was a good time for me to spend with Jesus. but some nights i would cut it short because of homework, or because i was tired. That's not fair to Jesus. If he is a priority in my life, i need to give him more than just the end of my night or the few min here and there that i can squeeze it in throughout my day. I need to plan my day around Jesus; not plan Jesus around my day!

So, with all of that being said I have made the commitment to have coffee with Jesus every morning! I am meeting with Him at the local coffee shop every morning (monday-friday) at 6am! (I have to be to work at 7am) I am putting this out here, because i am going to need to be encouraged and held accountable with this. I AM NOT a morning person. I am going to want to push the snooze and sleep another hour. This will be a challenge for me. But i know that it will be worith it!

I started this today. And by the time i got to work at 7am, i felt great! i felt more awake and alive. I had a good day because it started out right!

Burnout

Everyone has a different limit when it comes to what they can accomplish in a given day or week. We all have different energy levels.

I have always been a busy, productive person. I cannot really remember a time when I hit my "burnout" point. I like to be busy. I am an example of the saying, "when you want something done, give it to a busy person" (or something like that). I work a full time job, one part time job, and another job on the side. I also go to school full time in an accelerated bachelors program. And this past week, I think that I found my limit, or "burnout" point.

It was Friday afternoon and I had no idea how I was going to get everything done. Not only am I taking my regular courses of school, I decided to add an online class to my load. Then I found out this week that, in the mist of this extra class, that I need to have all four of my wisdom teeth pulled. So, not only did I have to get all of my homework done for this week, I wanted to get it all done for next week too, just in case I don't recover from my dental procedure as fast as I would like. So anyway, I was feeling a bit stressed about getting all of this done, on top of my regular weekend activities such as, cleaning my house, paying the bills, doing laundry, etc...

Before I dove into it all, I took some time on Friday and quieted my head and heart before God. I took a few moments to pray and turn it all over to Him. I needed to remember that even though I was feeling a bit burnedout, that God was with me. He has blessed my life with all of these activities, and responsibilities. I needed to remember that it was God that has called me to do all that I am doing and that He will equip me and give me the energy I need to accomplish what He has called me to accomplish! And what a difference it made!!

I did have a busy weekend. But God gave me the energy that I needed to accomplish everything that I needed and wanted to accomplish. I had more energy this weekend than I have had in a long time. I was a peace with everything every moment of this weekend.

What a lesson I learned! On my own, I cannot possibly do what I want or think that I need to do. But as long as I am following God and asking Him for help, I can do anything!

This situation also reminded me of all the people I talk to that say they are "too busy to serve" or to help out at church. That excuse makes me cringe every time. If God is calling you to do something, He WILL give you the strength to do it. We must be obedient. He may ask us to give up some things that take up our time. But if we are obedient and follow Him in everything that we do, we can accomplish whatever He calls us to accomplish.

With all of this said, I no longer feel "burned out". I don't think that I should add any more to my plate right now, but I am feeling pretty good about what is currently on my plate. I do not feel over loaded or stressed out! God is Great!!

5 most important events in my life... (Homework Assignment)

1) When I was three years old my mother was given the diagnosis of cancer. During the seven years that she lived with cancer, my parents divorced. When I was ten years old my mother passed away.
2) My dad married Val when I was in the first grade. This was a huge event in my young life for many reasons, but I think that the biggest adjustment for me was that she had 2 children of her own. I went from being an only child to now the youngest of three girls. My dad and Val divorced when I was a junior in high school (this also was a big/difficult time in my life). Even though they are no longer married, Val and her two girls are a huge part of my life today-- Val is my mom and her girls, Melissa and Angela, are my sisters! They are my family. And I am so blessed to have them in my life.
3) Working at Peak Performance has been an awesome experience. This job has helped me develop into the person that I am today. I was in high school when I started working here as a front desk assistant. Today I am the office manager. My boss has taught me more about health, life, business, and communication than I ever imagined. It has been an honor to work for him. 4) Becoming a Christian when I was 20 years old was probablly the biggest and most important event in my life. This is where everything changed. The path that I was on changed. How I viewed life changed. My friends changed. My job changed-- In August 2005, I was asked to come on staff at my church as Director of Early Childhood Ministries. Everything changed and it was the best thing that every happened to me!!
5) When I was 21 years old, I built my home. This was a huge accomplishment in my life. I have learned so much from the experience of building and owning a home. I love having a place of my own, although it takes a lot of hard work.