Set Me Free

Set me free to live for today. Set me free to live in gratitude. Bless my intention.

I made the word THANKFUL my focus for 2017. I think this image sums up what I am looking for by being Thankful. I look to be present in each moment of the day. It has been quite difficult this month with all the hoopla of a new president taking office and all the executive orders he has signed. His actions are no longer hypothetical, but are reality. They have very real consequences for very real people.

Quite often my mind is jumping from one task to another. I want to be intentional. This is where my planner comes in handy. If I find my mind jumping from one thought to another or coming up with a list of things I want to do, I pull out my planner and start making lists. I either just write them in the to -do boxes or I start writing them in specific days. Once I do that, my mind feels emptier (no comments from the Peanut Gallery :) ) and then I can decide what I want to focus on.

Being intentional is very important. Being thankful is very important too. I have learned to take one day at a time. And there are days I need to take it one hour at a time. So remember to be thankful for something every day. Be intentional with your words, your actions and your thoughts. If you have to write in your planner to be thankful, then do it. Think of it as a gentle reminder to be aware of your life and all that you have in it and to say THANKS.

I have reason to be thankful

Well, this past week has been quite a .......not really sure what to call it. Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States a week ago. That is still sinking in for me.  I catch my breath every time I see video of him on television now and the news reporter says, "President Trump..." How in the world did this happen? Sigh.

Anyway, as I wrote before, THANKFUL is my word for 2017. My goal is to post on this blog twice a week. One of the posts will be about something I am THANKFUL for. After the past 8 days we need to reminded of what we have to be THANKFUL for.

I am thankful for the right to freedom of speech. I can speak my mind freely without the fear of repercussion of the government. We need to remember we have that freedom and to fight to hold onto it.

I am thankful for my husband who encourages me to get involved in politics and speak my mind. He has even suggested I look more into local politics and thinks I would enjoy doing it. Maybe even running for a local office....not sure about that, but I am interested in learning more about local politics.

I am thankful for the brave and energized women who organized the Womens' March in DC and all the other organizers around the country and the world who planned marches last weekend. They have a passion and energy that cannot be dismissed or diminished.

I am thankful for my faith. I am a Christian. I make no apologies for that. I am thankful for Jesus Christ for many things among them the lessons He taught us. He taught us to care for the weak, the outcast, the hungry, the poor, the least among us. I love this scripture that illustrates this lesson perfectly. This version is from the Common English Bible (CEB), book of Matthew, Chapter 25 starting at the 34th verse.

34“Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who will receive good things from my Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began. 35I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. 36I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.’37“Then those who are righteous will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and give you clothes to wear? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’40“Then the king will reply to them, ‘I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.’41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me, you who will receive terrible things. Go into the unending fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels. 42I was hungry and you didn’t give me food to eat. I was thirsty and you didn’t give me anything to drink. 43I was a stranger and you didn’t welcome me. I was naked and you didn’t give me clothes to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’44"Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and didn’t do anything to help you?’ 45 Then he will answer, ‘I assure you that when you haven’t done it for one of the least of these, you haven’t done it for me.’ 46 And they will go away into eternal punishment. But the righteous ones will go into eternal life."

For those that claim to be Christian, remember this lesson. When we help the least of our brothers and sisters, we are helping Him. The One who died for us. I am incredibly thankful for this lesson and will do my best to carry it forward.

New Planner - What Do I Do Now?

The New Year is so exciting. We have a clean slate of opportunities. We put the past year behind us and we are ready for the wonder and opportunities of the new year.

You bought a new planner for 2017. You have looked on Pinterest for ideas on how to set it up or decorate it and there is a whole world of planner geeks on social media. It can get overwhelming and you may not know where to start. I have a few tips that I have learned.

Some people decorate every inch of their planner and to me it seems very little is written on the pages. That works for some people and good for them. Have at it! If you don't feel you are the creative or artsy type, don't fret! You make your planner fit you.

First thing - breathe. Take a deep breath and relax. I love filling out my planner. It is very relaxing to me because it means I can not think about those tasks 24/7. They are written down and they won't be forgotten, because i will check my planner every day.

Second, use a pencil. Trust me, you'll feel better. Take a pencil and write in all known appointments, work schedules, school schedules, family events, get togethers, holidays, etc. If you know something is coming up, but you don't have a set date yet, like a baby or bridal shower, write a note at the start of the month you think the event will be to look for the invite to come in the mail. This is a great way to get an idea of what time you will have available for vacations or weekend getaways.

Third, how do you want these events to stand out, if at all. If you find yourself constantly marking these out and re-writing you may want to only use pencil in your planner. If you love ink, there are erasable pens. Frixion makes erasable pens that I have heard rave reviews about. I may need to add them to my stash. Do you want to highlight appointments? Would you like to write on stickers or just decorate the page? Some people color code items. Personally, I only color code based on person. For example, appointments or events that are primarily for me, I highlight orange. It doesn't matter if it is a doctor's appointment, volunteer shift or a church meeting. Now some people color code by activity. That could work if the planner is just for you and not for family members. So work may be purple, church may be yellow, housework is green, volunteer work is pink, doctor appointments are red. Some people color code by highlighter or by pen/marker.

For this particular week, appointments/activities are highlighted.

Fourth, do you want to decorate your pages? Or do you just want to decorate birthdays and holidays? Or nothing at all. My suggestion to you is start slowly. If you like the idea of highlighters, then buy a couple of highlighters and use those for a week or even a month. If that works for you, you found your thing! If you feel you need more, then think about holiday/birthday stickers or are do you a favorite animal/icon? Like, do you love owls? There are lots of great owl stickers out there you could get to put your personal touch on the pages. Are you crazy about purple? Well, you could lose your mind with washi tape and stickers in that royal color. Start slow. Try one thing at a time and do not feel pressure to do anything that is not calling your name.

So far in 2017 I have not done much decorating. For this particular weekend, I used some washi tape along the time line and simple weekend banner sticker across Saturday and Sunday.

I can always use some motivation so I like to include motivational stickers or hand written quotes on each week.

Fifth, think about cost. It is so easy to add things to your Etsy cart and your craft store shopping basket and not think about cost. Most planners are not very cheap. My Passion Planner was $30. PP does offer sales throughout the year, so you can subscribe to their newsletter or follow them on social media to find out when items are going on sale. Stickers, tape and pens/markers can get expensive fast. Make a wish list of things you would like to purchase.  Then shop around on Etsy or in craft stores and get an idea of cost. Join their newsletters to get coupons or find out when items are going on sale. Then buy what you really want and what fits your budget. And only purchase what you will use in a reasonable amount of time. I say that as someone who has quite a few rolls of washi tapes and sheets of stickers that are not being used right now.

I hope these tips are helpful. The important thing to remember is to have fun with this. Take your time, enjoy the process and you never know, you just might find you have a creative streak.

Show me what you got!